Corrections or additions?
This article by Barbara Fox was published in U.S. 1 Newspaper on October 27, 1999. All rights reserved.
Universal Display Leaves the Nest
In its quest for the “killer application,” Universal
Display Corporation (UDL) moved 13 employees last month from Nassau
Street offices owned by Princeton University to an 11,000-foot laboratory
space on Phillips Boulevard. UDL uses thin-film technology to make
functional layered devices known as organic light emitting diodes.
These OLEDs could upgrade the display function of almost any electronic
device, from unusually-shaped phones to windshields to mural-size
video screens.
“One reason we built this facility was to be able to make prototypes
in an environment that allows us to do more commercial activity,”
says Sidney Rosenblatt, executive vice president of UDC. “We would
not conduct commercial business on the university’s property.”
Rosenblatt says UDC is spending nearly $100 million on its new facility.
It raised $9 million in April, including $5 million from private placement
and the rest from exercising public warrants. UDC trades at about
3 3/4 as PANL on the Nasdaq small cap market.
The two universities involved in the research — Princeton and
University of Southern California — have an important stake in
the company that could turn out to be very profitable. Princeton University’s
five-year strategic partnership with UDC gave Princeton equity in
a licensing transaction for the first time (U.S. 1, February 25, 1998).
Ron Witt Sr. of Sweetwater Construction on Prospect Plains Road did
the build-out, and Ed Arcari, a North Jersey architect, did the design.
About 10,000 feet are being subleased currently, and when the two
clean rooms are ready, UDC will stage its grand opening.
As for the “killer ap:” UDC is working in “areas we believe
will have the best possible outcome for OLED technology,” says
Rosenblatt. Because OLEDs can be shown on plastic substrates that
can curve, potential products might include segmented-color cell phone
displays (with different colors for different messages) or unusually
shaped cellular phones, or a wrap-around dashboards for airplanes
and automobiles.
Universal Display Corporation Inc. (PANL), 375Phillips Boulevard, Ewing 08618. Steven Abramson, COO. 609-671-0980;fax, 609-671-0995. Home page: universaldisplay.com.Previous StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
