China's ongoing OLED investment boom is bringing new opportunities to the South Korean display equipment industry. In particular, many South Korean companies have been selected by BOE Technology as core production equipment suppliers for OLED panels, providing a breakthrough for the previously sluggish display equipment market.
After South Korean equipment makers Sunic Systems and Avaco landed orders from BOE for 8.6-generation (8.6G) OLED vapor deposition equipment and logistics equipment, respectively, BOE's OLED factory supply chain has been gradually expanding in April 2024. According to South Korean media outlet ET News, citing information from the China International Tendering Platform, many South Korean display equipment companies have been chosen as equipment suppliers for BOE.
For example, ICD has been selected by the Chinese panel maker as a supplier of dry etching equipment and plasma surface treatment equipment. LG Electronics has been chosen to supply inkjet printing systems, while AP Systems will supply laser lift-off (LLO) equipment. Hansong Neotech will provide fine metal mask (FMM) stretching machines and inspection equipment, Deviceeng has been picked to offer mask cleaning equipment, and TSE will supply array inspection equipment. All of these are indispensable for OLED panel manufacturing.
It is speculated that BOE will soon select OLED heat treatment equipment suppliers. As South Korean companies are also participating in the bidding, it's possible they will win these contracts as well, further benefiting the South Korean OLED equipment industry.
In recent years, new investment in the South Korean domestic display industry has been relatively stagnant. Therefore, OLED investment expansions by BOE and other Chinese makers have galvanized the South Korean display equipment sector.
BOE is currently building its 8.6G OLED factory B16 in Chengdu, China, with an investment of CNY$63 billion (US$8.66 billion). The 8.6G refers to OLED glass core substrates (GCS) with a length of 2,250 mm and a width of 2,600 mm, more than twice the size of the 6th generation and boasting higher output efficiency. Another Chinese maker, Visionox Technology, also announced in May 2024 an 8.6G investment plan of CNY 55 billion.
