AU Optronics Corp. history, profile and corporate video
AU Optronics Corp. engages in the research, development, production, and sale of thin-film transistor liquid crystal displays and other flat panel displays. It operates through the Display Business and Solar Business segments. The Display Business segment deals with the designing, developing, manufacturing, and marketing of flat panel displays. The Solar Business segment handles the manufacturing of polysilicon and solar wafer. The company was founded on August 12, 1996, and is headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan.
AU Optronics History
On January 28, 2003, the company announced that it returned to profit in 2002.
AU Optronics (AUO) is the first manufacturer in Taiwan to mass-produce TFT-LCD panels by means of G3.5, G4, G5, G6, G7.5 and G8.5 fabrications, and the G8.5 fab entered mass production in June 2009. AUO carries out research and development on display technologies. Since 2002 AUO has been the leader in patent applications among Taiwan’s flat-panel industry. AUO extended its market to the green energy industry in late 2008, and formally founded its Solar Photovoltaic Business Unit in October 2009.
The company was reported to be planning to build a 7.5-generation LCD generation plant in Kunshan, China, and received government approval from Taiwan on December 17, 2010. Restrictions on investment in China were lifted by Taiwan in February 2010, as long as more advanced technologies are produced at home (such as AUO’s 8.5-generation plant in Taichung).
In December 2010, the EU fined AU Optronics for its part in an LCD price-fixing scheme, ordering the company to pay a €116.8 million fine. Other companies fined included LG Display, Chimei Innolux Corporation, Chunghwa Picture Tubes Limited, and HannStar Display Corporation. The company stated that it would appeal the fine, but did not expect the decision to affect its operations.
In 2010 the company built two more manufacturing facilities, in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It also formed joined ventures with TPV Technology, Ltd. based in Hong Kong. In 2011 AU Optronics announced plans to recruit 3,000 employees for its solar technology and display businesses. Following the earthquake in Japan on March 11, 2011, the company suspended production at its Japanese solar wafer unit, M. Setek Co., to assess potential quake damage.
In June 2011, two of the company’s factories (an 8.5-generation factory at the Central Taiwan Science Park and a TV module plant in Suzhou) became the first factories in the world to obtain ISO 50001 certification.
On September 20, 2012, AU Optronics Corporation was sentenced to pay a US$500 million criminal fine for its participation in a five-year conspiracy to fix the prices of thin-film transistor LCD panels sold worldwide. Its American subsidiary and two former top executives were also sentenced. The two executives were sentenced to prison and fined for their roles in the conspiracy. The $500 million fine matches the largest fine imposed against a company for violating U.S. antitrust laws. AU Optronics and the individual defendants have subsequently appealed the court decision.
*Information from Forbes.com, Wikipedia.org and www.auo.com/en-global
**Video published on YouTube by “AUOHQ“