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By: Richard Del Cazzo
Web site: http://www.hdtv-hdtv.com
Royal Philips Electronics today announced its decision to
stop its front projector business. As a consequence, Philips
will cease to be an independent manufacturer of front projectors.
Philips has decided to focus its resources on display technologies
in which it has a leading position, such as LCD (Liquid Crystal
Display), Plasma and LCOS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon), a rear
projection technology. Philips is a global leader in flat
TVs (LCD and plasma) and also sees potential in LCOS rear
projection, which offers a large screen high definition picture
quality with a small footprint.
Whilst the market for front projectors is growing in both
the business to business- and consumer segments, a rapid consolidation
in the industry is taking place. It would take considerable
investments to continue as a fully integrated and global supplier
and achieve a leading market position. Since Philips is not
a supplier of the key display technologies for front projection,
it has been decided to discontinue the development and manufacturing
of front projectors.
The decision to exit the front projection business affects
a total of approximately 270 jobs at the central offices and
development centre in Eindhoven, the product introduction
and production in Vienna, Austria, and the regional sales
organizations.
It is the intention to stop production in the third quarter
of this year. Philips will fulfil all its obligations to customers
and continue to support them in the most appropriate way.
In February of this year, Philips announced its withdrawal
from the front projection business in the United States, where
the market is predominantly in the business to business segment.
Philips is in consultation with the workers’ representatives
on the employment consequences of the restructuring.
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