Moxtek Reaches Volume Production

Moxtek Reaches Volume Production

11.18.2002

Moxtek (Orem, UT) (www.moxtek.com), the inventor of the Wire Grid Polarizer (WGP) technology, reports it is now firmly in mass production of these polarizers for projection systems. Production and revenue are increasing rapidly, and the company is exploring ways to maximize its value.

According to Moxtek director Doug Hansen, "Since August, we have shipped at a rate of about 8K WGPs per month. In October, we should ship about 17K polarizers. These are going to about 10 customers, mostly for front-projection applications."

Production volumes will increase significantly again in early 2003, and the company is currently planning to add capacity to meet this demand.

These sales are having a positive impact on revenue for the company too. "We are currently generating sales revenue at a $5,000,000 annual rate and that will just continue to increase with sales volume," says Hansen.

The WGP technology fabricates a tiny series of aluminum bars on a glass substrate to separate unpolarized light into polarized transmissive and reflective components. It is not temperature or UV light sensitive like organic polarizers, which is why it has a big advantage in projection systems.

Apparently, the company is also hearing significant interest in using the technology in direct-view LCD applications. This could be a huge new opportunity for Moxtek, but many of these potential customers want to license the technology, as this is a better way to integrate it into the production process. This is prompting the company to explore ways to enter this market, and it is even exploring selling the optics operations of the company as one way to generate the appropriate return for its shareholders. It has retained an investment banking company to help explore these options, which are still being evaluated.

Moxtek, Doug Hansen, 801-225-0930, dhansen@moxtek.com

Excerpted from the Projection Supply Chain Report--Autumn 2002