3rd Global Plastic Electronics Conference 2007: Emerging High-Tech Industry Thriving In Germany

3rd Global Plastic Electronics Conference 2007: Emerging High-Tech Industry Thriving In Germany

October 29, 2007

    FRANKFURT, Germany, Oct. 29 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- 

    Leaders in the emerging printed electronics sector will
be showcasing technological advances at the 3rd Global
Plastic Electronics Conference from October 29-30th in
Frankfurt, Germany. Printed electronics technology enables
new products or significant improvements, in applications
such as hand-held devices, flexible displays, or printed
sensors and batteries. Germany is a leading center for
innovations in printed electronics and its investment
promotion agency, Invest in Germany, is on hand to promote
the industry's success in Germany. 

    At a pre-conference reception, Konrad Herre, Vice
President for Manufacturing at Plastic Logic Limited, spoke
about his company's first volume production plant in the
eastern German state of Saxony. In May 2007, Plastic Logic
broke ground on a euro 100 million manufacturing facility
in Dresden, Germany. The state-of-the-art plant, which is
set to be in operation by the second half of 2008, will
produce the world's first commercially viable polymer-based
displays. This revolutionary technology will, among other
applications, enable end users to read books in hand-held
electronic form. 

    The Plastic Logic example shows that pioneering
international companies trust Germany as a location for
groundbreaking investments. The country is ideally suited
for printed electronics investments: Germany is leading in
the development of printing technologies and offers an
unparalleled density of top microelectronics device
manufacturers. This infrastructure, together with the
strength of Germany's chemical and machinery industries,
provides the ideal base for the market implementation of
printed electronics technologies. Furthermore, Germany
hosts strong application markets for printed electronics
products such as lighting, photovoltaics, healthcare, or
logistics. These industries are helping to make printed
electronics applications, such as RFID, flexible displays,
and organic photovoltaics commercially successful.  

    Printed electronics is a young but extremely promising
industry. Over the past two years, Invest in Germany has
assembled an expert team to support investments in this
field at all stages, from development to series production.
It not only advised Plastic Logic, but also guided the
Scottish company MicroEmissive Displays (MED) on the
company's euro 10 million investment in September of 2006,
also in Dresden. "We see printed electronics as an
industry with much potential for investors and therefore we
expect and are prepared to accompany more projects in this
area in the near future," noted Oliver Seiler, Senior
Manager for Electronics at Invest in Germany.  


    Media Contact:
    Eva Henkel 
    Invest in Germany
    Phone:   [phone]
    Fax:     [phone]
    Email:   [e-mail]
    Website: http://www.invest-in-germany.com