IMI unit ties up with Toppan of Japan

Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc. (IMI), one of the leading global manufacturing solutions experts, announced that its subsidiary VIA Optronics GmbH has formed a new joint venture with Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. in Japan.

VIA and Toppan formed a new joint venture company to serve the market for copperbased metal mesh touch sensors by transferring 65 percent of the shares of Toppan Touch Panel Products Co., Ltd., a newly formed spin-off from Toppan, to VIA.

The name of the new joint venture company will be VTSTouchsensor Co., Ltd. (VTS) and will be located in Higashiomi, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. will own the remaining 35 percent of the company. VTS will develop and manufacture the metal mesh touch sensors in Japan on the existing premises of Toppan.

VIA will leverage its years of knowledge and experience of market requirements, systemlevel design, and production in the automotive, consumer and industrial markets to support further development of the core sensor technology.

“Using the experience of both companies, VTS will provide game changing metal mesh touch sensors to their existing and future customer base,” said VIA Optronics Chief Executive Officer Juergen Eichner.

He added that, “the new setup will also strengthen VIA’s portfolio of differentiated and value-added sensor technology for touch panels, touch-display modules, display head assemblies, and interactive display systems across multiple markets and segments.” (JAL)