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Abstract:
Powering the Next Wave: Organic and Printed Electronics

* Attracting 89 exhibitors and 850 attendees, LOPE-C 2010 exceeded all expectations
* Now the premier worldwide platform of organic and printed electronics
* First products shown: organic displays and solar cells, lighting, sensors, batteries
* Mass printing of thin and flexible organic electronic goods takes off
* Opening keynote by Carl-Christian Buhr, Member of Cabinet of European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes, assures organics industry of continued support

LOPE-C 2010: Overwhelming Success

Frankfurt, Germany | Posted on June 30th, 2010

In its second year on the international stage, LOPE-C 2010 (Large-area, Organic and Printed Electronics Convention) has successfully positioned itself as the central market place of a newly emerging basic industry, serving as the meeting platform of its industrial, scientific, engineering, investor and end-user communities.

New Record in Attendees and Exhibitors

More than 850 fully registered attendees from 30 countries gathered for 180 presentations in the 3-day conference featuring multi-track keynote, business, main technical, scientific and poster sessions. Doubling last year's show floor area to accommodate 89 exhibitors, LOPE-C 2010 exceeded all expectations, introducing a host of new products and demonstrating advanced manufacturing equipment suited for mass production. In the review of international observers, LOPE-C figures as the gateway to a new era: of organic and printed electronics.

Indicative of the advanced state of organic and printed applications is the growing number of attendees from industrial end-user segments such as print, packaging, automotive, security and consumer electronics crowding the presentations by consumer goods manufacturers Nokia, Sony and Samsung, publishing houses such as Gruner & Jahr and Bauer, and automotive firm Fiat.

At the newly introduced LOPE-C 2010 Investor Forum, matching up international investment houses with firms vying for start and follow-up financing, the fundraising presentation by Finland-based Enfucell was awarded best contribution by the OE-A (Organic Electronics Association). Enfucell is developing a thin and flexible, environmentally friendly battery for disposable electronics. The judging panel was chaired by LOPE-C 2010 keynoter David Fyfe of Sumitomo Chemicals and former CEO of Cambridge Display Technology.

The global players in the field of organic and printed electronics, such as BASF, Coatema, DuPont, Evonik, H.C. Starck, Clevios, Konarka, Fujifilm Dimatix, Merck, Plextronics, PolyIC, Soligie, SunaTech, all exhibited in the Congress Center of Messe Frankfurt, Germany.

Mass Production

Large-scale investments in the mass production infrastructure of organic and printed electronics are taking place, ramping up manufacturing of products such as sensors, memory devices, e-readers, organic photovoltaic cells (OPV) and lighting - all taking advantage of the unique properties of organic materials and innovative inkjet and screen printing processes that yield lightweight, flexible and robust products and are enabling a host of innovative industrial as well as low-cost consumer applications not feasible up to now.

Besides marketable products and machinery, LOPE-C 2010 featured a current set of Technology Demonstrators and a "Tool Box", sponsored by OE-A and participating firms, containing 20 functional devices and materials geared towards university students to stimulate academic design competitions, whose results will be presented at next year's event. Well received was an interactive raffle-ticket with printed display offered to every attendee as part of an OE-A Demonstrator Project.

Exhibition Highlights

Fujifilm Dimatix, acknowledged as a long-time leading provider of industrial inkjet printheads and printing integration solutions, presented its XYZ-stage inkjet deposition system, advancing print accuracy to ±5 µm. PolyIC, a leader in roll-to-roll printing techniques of organic devices such as RFID tags presented a highly transparent conductive layer on flexible polyester films, as an ITO replacement in touch screen applications. Coatema demonstrated its Smartcoater unit featuring R2R coating, printing and laminating, and the Precisioncoater for cleanroom applications. Merck Chemicals UK was present with a saturated-color polymer-microparticle concept for new electrophoretic display materials. Sweden-based ThinFilm showed a new low-cost ferroelectric, non-volatile, rewritable microstructure for printed memory devices for interactive consumer gadgets and ID tags already in high-volume pilot production. Plextronics presented its new organic ink material made from non-toxic components and delivering an up to 40 percent increase in power density for organic PV cells specifically geared to indoor energy harvesting applications.

LOPE-C - Industry Driven Event

"With our successful 2010 event" says Wolfgang Mildner, Chairman of the OE-A and Managing Director of PolyIC, "we have proven that LOPE-C is the worldwide showcase of the industry and the leading indicator of scientific and engineering progress in organic and printed electronics". Above all, Mildner says, "LOPE-C is fully industry driven. It speaks for the industry."

"The industrial impact of organic and printed electronics", says Andrew Hannah, Vice Chairman of the OE-A and CEO of Plextronics in Pittsburgh, PA, USA, "was clearly visible at LOPE-C 2010. What the industry needs at this stage is an international marketplace as provided by LOPE-C, and a global perspective in terms of roadmapping as pursued by the OE-A."

Reinhard Baumann, Chairman of the LOPE-C Scientific Board and Professor at Chemnitz University of Technology, emphasizes the remarkable research activities in the emerging field: "I%27m impressed how much impact is coming from the academic community, especially from young scientists entering the field."

An important outcome of this year's conference, says Wolfgang Mildner, was to establish an ongoing discussion platform for the producers and users of organic and printed electronics. In this process, the task and objective of LOPE-C will be to explicate and channel the user's expectations and demands on the new technology.

LOPE-C 2011

The next LOPE-C conference and exhibition will take place June 28 to 30, 2011, at the fairgrounds of Messe Frankfurt, Germany.

Exhibitor Comments
"LOPE-C 2010 demonstrated the future of organic and printed electronics in terms of new technologies and applications. PolyIC was a Gold Sponsor and got strong benefits from the high number of attendees, with a good mix of users, technologists and people with general interest. LOPE-C is the right event for our industry!" Wolfgang Clemens, PolyIC, Germany

"Very well organized conference taking place in state-of-the-art facilities and providing a good atmosphere." Peter Eckerle, BASF Future Business GmbH, Germany

"Due to the extraordinary level of organization, the conferences and exhibits blended together in an effortless manner. The spacious exhibition floor provided us with the opportunity to engage actively with our customers." Ming Zhou, CEO, SunaTech Inc., China

"LOPE-C exceeded my expectations in both, number of attendees and the high-quality conference program." Rolf Aberg, CEO, Thin Film Electronics, Sweden

"Very well organized and helpful staff. Messe Frankfurt was very accessible for travellers. Speakers were excited to share and learn about the industry, attendees were well within the target for the show." Scott Durham, Novacentrix, Inc., USA

"Impressive exhibition of a growing industry. Very good platform to discuss plans and move topics ahead. We had many very qualified contacts." Günter Raabe, Felix Schoeller Service GmbH & Co. KG, Germany

"Great success for our company - we had more than 80 visitors on day one alone. Great organization and conferences." Thomas Kolbusch, Coatema, Germany

"A well attended and worthwhile exhibition platform with exhibitors and attendees from the most diverse fields." Julius Maier, Kammann Maschinenbau GmbH, Germany

"The event was productive, connecting us to an ecosystem of players well grounded in what's real and what's hype." Jennifer Ernst, PARC, USA

"The trade fair showed very innovative technologies. It is a good chance to get into contact with other companies for doing business." Jürgen Neuber, Neuber GmbH & Co KG, Germany

"For Fraunhofer IAP, LOPE-C 2010 was a very successful meeting. We presented our latest results in OLEDs, OPV and OTFTs. Fraunhofer IAP announced an OLED device with printed security feature which was very well received by the visitors." Armin Wedel, Fraunhofer IAP, Germany

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About LOPE-C
LOPE-C (Large-area, Organic & Printed Electronics Convention) is the leading, fully industry-sponsored annual conferences and exhibition of organic and printed electronics. LOPE-C presents the economic trends and the scope of scientific achievements in the field. The convention focuses on the production and application of organic and printed electronics. LOPE-C is jointly organized by the Organic Electronics Association (OE-A) and Messe Frankfurt Ausstellungen GmbH.

About OE-A
Formed in 2004 as a Working Group within VDMA (German Engineering Federation), the OE-A (Organic Electronics Association) is the foremost professional body representing the worldwide organic and printed electronics industry. With more than 140 members throughout Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, OE-A represents the entire industrial value chain.

OE-A Roadmap
The official OE-A Roadmap, fixing time lines for applications and technologies, is now out in its third edition. The 4th edition is due in 2011 and will be presented at LOPE-C 2011.
www.oe-a.org

About Messe Frankfurt Ausstellungen
Messe Frankfurt Ausstellungen GmbH is a fully owned subsidiary of Messe Frankfurt GmbH. At an annual turnover of €440m (2008), Messe Frankfurt is the world’s largest fair company operating their own fair grounds. The globally active holding operates a worldwide network of 28 daughter companies, five branch offices and 52 international distribution partners and representatives. With this broad-based structure, Messe Frankfurt is present in more than 150 countries, with important industry events in more than 30 locations. In 2008 Messe Frankfurt organized a total of 102 fairs, 60 of which took place in foreign countries.

Contacts:
Press information:
In cooperation with Messe Frankfurt Ausstellungen GmbH

Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH
Contact: Press
Tel.: +49 711 61946 62
Fax: +49 711 61946 94

For inquiries regarding OE-A please contact:
Dr. Klaus Hecker, Managing Director
Organic Electronics Association (OE-A)
Tel.: +49 (0) 69 66 03-13 36

For inquiries concerning the convention in general, please contact:
Barbara Kälberer, Project Manager
Messe Frankfurt Ausstellungen GmbH
Tel.: +49 (0) 611 951 66-18