Tatung, GE Set Up Joint Venture to Tap Digital Appliances Market

Taiwan-based Tatung Co and the US`s GE (General Electric Company) have set up a joint venture, General Display & Technologies LLC, to explore the global market for digital appliances, according to company sources.

Tatung is a veteran maker of appliances in Taiwan, boasting sound supply chains all over the world, while GE is the largest supplier of own-brand electronic products in the US. According to industry insiders, the joint venture between the two companies can better take advantage of their cutting-edge competitiveness and benefit the both sides in the future.

Tatung and GE command a 51 and 49 percent stake, respectively, in the joint venture, which will market GE-branded digital appliances, including LCD (liquid crystal display) TVs, in the US and the global market, with Tatung providing ODM (original design manufacturing) services for it. The joint venture is scheduled to officially launch its products in the US in the second quarter of next year.

At the moment, the global market for LCD TVs has been almost dominated by Japanese and Korean brands, with Samsung, Sony, Sharp and LG ranking among the world`s top four brands in the market. This has forced European and North American brands to withdraw from the market as a result.

However, the situation gives Asian LCD TV makers chances to further emerge in the global market. For instance, Philips, currently No.5 LCD TV brand in the world, has decided to quit the US market and farm out production to its Asian contract suppliers TPV Technology Ltd and Funai Electric Co Ltd Also, Taiwan`s Proveiw Electronics Co Ltd has taken advantage of Polaroid and Westinghouse`s brand names to score shining sales of LCD TVs in the US

Lin Wei-shan, Chairman of Tatung Group, is quite confident of the alliance between his group and GE, saying that such operation models can revive European and North American brands in the LCD TV market, especially in the US, and have proven effective in recent years.

Source: CENS