OE-A's 5th anniversary

"With its 135 members all over the world, the OE-A has become a highly dynamic and constantly growing network of leading international companies and institutes in the past five years", said Wolfgang Mildner, Chairman of the OE-A and Managing Director, PolyIC GmbH & Co. KG, Germany, on the occasion of the 5th anniversary celebration of the OE-A, the industry association for organic and printed electronics.

 

In December 2004, 35 members founded this working group within VDMA. "One of the founding principles of the OE-A five years ago was the goal to build an international industry association to jointly develop this future multi-billion Euro market", emphasized the Chairman of the OE-A. "Cooperation all along the value chain is essential in this phase; no company can achieve it alone."

 

Organic photovoltaics, OLED lighting, flexible displays, printed memory, RFID or sensors, as well as integrated smart systems are just a few examples of new applications which are made possible by organic and printed electronics.

 

"When OE-A was created five years ago, printed electronics was an industry known to a small number of pioneering companies," said Andrew W. Hannah, Vice Chairman of OE-A and CEO of Plextronics. "Now, we are part of a global industry and OE-A has led the way in that transformation. The OE-A has helped raise the visibility of printed electronics which is invaluable to its member companies."

The next step in globalization after OE-A's inception in Europe and establishing the North American office in 2008 is the continued growth of activities in Asia. An important milestone is the recent addition of Sumitomo Chemical, a leading company from Japan, to the OE-A.

 

technology such as organic electronics, a strong body representing the interests of companies engaged in the technology is essential," said Dr. David Fyfe, Sumitomo Chemical, Tokyo, Japan. "We have chosen OE-A in view of it's growing global strength."

The OE-A (Organic Electronics Association) is a working group within the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) and was founded in December 2004. The OE-A is the leading international industry association for organic and printed electronics and represents the entire value chain of this emerging industry.

 

Its members are world-class global companies and institutions, ranging from R&D institutes, component and material suppliers to producers and end-users. More than 130 companies from Europe, North America, Asia and Australia are working together to promote the establishment of a competitive production infrastructure for organic electronics. The vision of the OE-A is to build a bridge between science, technology and application. More than 3,000 member companies from the engineering industry make VDMA the largest industry association in Europe.

 

Additional information at: www.oe-a.org .