Kent Displays Begins Installation of Second Roll-to-Roll Production Line
Kent, Ohio, USA – Wednesday, February 29, 2012: Kent Displays announced today it will begin installation of a second roll-to-roll production line at company headquarters in Kent, Ohio. The additional roll-to-roll production line will manufacture flexible Reflex® No Power LCDs used in the highly popular Boogie Board eWriters sold by Improv Electronics, the consumer products subsidiary of Kent Displays. When the new line is fully operational in the second half of 2012, it will triple the company’s production capacity for flexible Reflex LCDs.
Kent Displays installed its first roll-to-roll production line in late 2008 to mass manufacture flexible LCDs for eWriters, electronics skins and eCards. The first Boogie Board eWriter model was launched in early 2010. Global demand was immediate. Several new models and accessories were introduced over the past six months, including the Boogie Board Rip™ eWriter, the first model to include a save function.
Continuously increasing global demand for Boogie Board eWriters — they are now sold in nearly 30 countries— created the need for a second roll-to-roll line at Kent Displays. The company secured funding for the new production line from a combination of sources.
“Following the installation of our first roll-to-roll line, Kent Displays experienced a remarkably quick transition from a company focused primarily on research and development to a commercially successful consumer products company,” said Kent Displays President and CFO Joel Domino. “Our original line, the first of its kind in the world, streamlined production of Boogie Board eWriters. As a result, we doubled revenue and employment over the past two years and recently shipped the one millionth Boogie Board eWriter since the original model launched in 2010. The second roll-to-roll line will make the Boogie Board eWriter production process even more efficient, allow us to meet increasing consumer demand, and create more jobs in Northeast Ohio.”
International government and business leaders have recognized the highly innovative roll-to-roll production process developed and utilized by Kent Displays. U.S. President Barack Obama publically recognized Kent Displays on two recent occasions, both times citing the company as an example of a high-tech manufacturing business that continues to flourish and stimulate job growth despite the current economic climate. Prominent companies located around the world have also increasingly sought the roll-to-roll expertise of Kent Displays to produce flexible LCD products for them or assist in the development of their own roll-to-roll processes.
About Kent Displays
Founded in 1993, Kent Displays, Inc. is a world leader in the research, development and manufacture of Reflex No Power LCDs for unique, sustainable applications including electronic skins, writing tablets, smartcards and eReaders.
For more information about Kent Displays, go to www.kentdisplays.com