Major touch panel makers including Wintek, TPK Touch Solutions, Young Fast Optoelectronics, J Touch and Japan-based Nissha are dominating orders from the top-five handset vendors, as well as major smartphone players, such as Apple, HTC and RIM, leaving smaller scale makers and resistive touch panel makers facing the possibility of phasing out of the market, according to market sources.
Touch panel makers are improving their technologies and expanding their economies of scale in order to survive in the market. Wintek and TPK Touch have invested NT$6 billion and NT$3 billion, respectively, to expand their capacities. Young Fast has allocated a capex of NT$1.5 billion for 2010, while J Touch plans to invest NT$400-500 million for capacity expansion in the second half of 2010, the sources noted.
Major touch panel makers can be divided into two groups. One of the groups mainly ships to Apple and processes glass-based projected capacitive touch panels, such as Wintek and TPK Touch. The other group includes Young Fast, J Touch and Nissha, who mainly process orders from the top-five handset vendors and first-tier smartphone clients, the sources added.
Young Fast's clients include Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and HTC, while J Touch is major supplier for Samsung and has recently entered the supply chain of HTC and Sony Ericsson, the sources said.
With demand for glass-based capacitive touch panel surging amid the strong sales of Apple's iPhone, suppliers have been aggressive in making deployments for the segment, the sources said.
Young Fast is scheduled to start mass production of glass-based capacitive touch panels at its 2.5G and 3G plants as early as the fourth quarter of 2010, while J Touch is expected to announce a plan for the segment next month, the sources said.
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