LCD Color Filter/TFT defect repair system(RL Series) is now under fully localized production by Marketech Int'l Corp. and shipment of the system starts on September 1st.

Color Filter Repair Systems for 7.5 Generation
20 systems to be delivered this year
Tool industry is booming

Marketech International Corporation (MIC) and Lasertec Corporation (Lasertec, a Japanese company) delivered a 7.5 Generation Color Filter Repair System to CHI MEI OPTOELECTRONICS CORPORATION (CHI MEI) on August 29th 2006. This system is the very first tool made in Taiwan as a result of complete production localization in the history of Taiwan LCD industry. 20 systems in total is schedule to be delivered to CHI MEI within this year. It can be said, by this delivery, that Taiwan Display Industry has made a great step forward. Yesterday (29th), the celebration ceremony for the first delivery of the system was held at the MIC office and Dr. Watakabe, the president of Lasertec also attended the ceremony. MIC has already received orders for about 100 systems that are color filter related this year and the stock prices of MIC and CHI MEI rose by 0.4 Taiwan NT$ and 0.35 NT$, respectively
yesterday and the closing prices were 24.1 NT$ and 38.1 NT$, respectively. Taiwan and Korea are two major countries for display device production. Although the localization rate for the tools related to display devices in Taiwan stays only one fourth of that in Korea, the localization rate is gradually going up. In such cases when production tools for large size substrates are realized, localization should reduce general cost remarkably. This kind of concept gives newer chances to the advancement of tool industry in Taiwan. From now on, display manufacturers will become enthusiastic about buying production tools from local tool manufactures. This trend will push overseas tool manufactures to go into joint developments with local manufactures and to enhance consignment of tool manufacturing to local manufacturers. MIC will, hereafter, continue to meet the customer's demand for cost reduction and quality control by comprehensive capability including both software and hardware technologies. Thus, in addition to technology licensing by Lasertec this time, MIC will intensify its activities such as OEM regarding electron beam inspection tools by AKT, exporting of manufacturing tools to overseas and entering into manufacturing of various kinds of tools used in the front-end processes at LCD manufacture's production site.
At present, development activity rate regarding production in Taiwan stays low at 4% of the total production activity, however, MIC will pursue to make the rate to 10% to 20%.
This will become the strong drive for the total growth of the company.
According to Ms. Margaret Kao, the chairperson of MIC, Taiwan customers will be able to enjoy higher level of service, because the local production of color filter repair systems conducted by cooperation of both MIC and Lasertec will make geographical distance between the tool production site and customer's site very short. And also in future, if such situation comes to reality that three parties, namely, MIC, Lasertec and a Customer work together on joint development, there would be a possibility that a new tool that truly satisfies customers could be manufactured in Taiwan. This kind of concept, under high-flying progress of the display industry, could provide vast business opportunity to the manufacturing tool industry in Taiwan.
Dr. Yaishiro Watakabe, the president of Lasertec said that the color filter repair systems made by Lasertec have now more than 70% share in the Taiwan market. In 1991, when mask inspection systems for semiconductor industry made by Lasertec had a vast share worldwide based on the most advanced technology at that time, Lasertec and MIC came into cooperative relationship. Since then, under the situation that LCD industry keeps growing with high speed, Lasertec also has been engaged in development of color filter repair systems. And this year, we have come to a stage that MIC officially starts the complete production localization of the color filter repair system for 7.5 generation in Taiwan.

Taiwan has seen another great step forward also in the LCD industry regarding localization of tool production. The Marketech International Corporation (MIC), who joined the club of 10 billion NT$ annual sales achievers last year, has been playing a local representative for Lasertec Corporation (Lasertec), a Japanese company manufacturing and selling automatic inspection and repair tools for LCD. MIC, in addition to the sales of color filter repair systems made in Japan, has self-manufactured a first color filter repair system for 7.5 generation and has come to the stage of delivering this system to CHI MEI OPTOELECTRONICS CORPORATION which is one of the major LCD manufactures in Taiwan.
This year, MIC has received about 100 orders for tools related to Color Filter manufacturing. MIC became a local representative for Lasertec in 1991 selling inspection tools used in LCD and semiconductor processes. At the celebration ceremony for the first delivery of the localized tool, Dr. Watakabe, the president of Lasertec talked that "I am proud to know that the realization of complete localization this time is a great step forward for the LCD industry in Taiwan."
The color filter repair systems mentioned here perform non-contact height measurement by one tenth micron meter unit and capable of repairing defects by sub-micron level precision. The systems are widely used in the most advanced production lines and each basic function of the system is integration of the most advanced technologies. First of all, the system is a measurement system that utilizes a very special optical system, called confocal microscope. In addition, the system is a precision processing machine that is capable of sub-micron precision processing utilizing lasers and grinding tapes. This color filter repair system can also be regarded as an integrated tool having variety of technical elements.
On the occasion of having achieved sales of more than 100 Lasertec systems, MIC will pursue stronger relationship with Lasertec based on the Win-Win concept. MIC will provide real time service to local customers based on further advanced technologies. MIC keeps pioneering future business by satisfying customer's cost reduction needs, making the local production more solid and aiming growth for the next generation together with Lasertec.
According to Ms. Margaret Kao, the chairperson of MIC, though the capital investment in the Taiwan display industry was total 28 billion NT$, the tool localization rate stays still at 21.9 %. For the moment, the tool localization rate of Taiwan is just half of that in Korea. However, through the severe competition between Taiwan and Korea, the framework for tool localization is gradually becoming solid in Taiwan.