Kicking-off flat-screen success
One of the world’s top display screen manufacturers, Samsung SDI is constantly on the look out for innovative products. High-performance sealing helps to maintain its market dominance.
In what is looking to be a very auspicious Year of the Rat for the South Korean giant Samsung, industry analysts are predicting a massive spike in global demand for Plasma Display Panel (PDP) televisions.
This is expected to occur in the run-up to the Beijing Olympic Games and UEFA’s European Football Championship, both set to take place in 2008. As a result, production on Samsung’s PDP lines has shifted into overdrive, with an extra 5.3 million units being turned out this year – an increase of 70 percent from 2007.
For Samsung, one of the key components in the company’s PDP manufacturing operations has been an O-Ring in Isolast J8325 material, supplied by Trelleborg Sealing Solutions. The perfluoroelastomer sealing compound is specially engineered to withstand very high thermal stresses with a continuous operating temperature of up to 325 degrees Celsius.
Typically used in process applications in the chemical, hydrocarbon, pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries, Isolast sealing products are also employed by various equipment manufacturers and end users in many other industrial sectors.
Samsung uses the O-Ring in the manufacture of its PDP panels. The seal is inserted into a plasma gun – a tool used in the standard production of flat panel screens – and places a vacuum seal on the unit. According to Samsung, the O-Ring is considered a value added product, superior in quality and durability when compared to competitive sealing products initially chosen by the company.
“Trelleborg’s O-Ring has better thermal resistance compared to the competitor. And it is easier to install and repair because of its reduced adhesion properties,” says Song Yun-Seok, General Manager of Trelleborg Sealing Solutions in South Korea.
The Isolast O-Ring combines high performance and quality, giving superior reliability, longer service life, greater safety, reduced wastage and a minimized risk of failure. It was first used in 2007 by Samsung in the company’s newest factory in Yangsan, South Korea.
In addition to meeting Samsung’s high expectations in terms of product performance, Trelleborg also comes up trumps in the areas of technical and commercial support. “We need our customers to know that we function as solution providers,” says Song.
“Samsung is a dynamic company and we are always looking for ways to help our customers to improve their processes.”
Given Trelleborg’s established track record of working closely with customers to help them meet their performance goals, it comes as no surprise that the decision to stock o-rings locally helped the company stand out from the competition when the time came for Samsung to choose a supplier. “Being able to access a local stock inventory is important,” Song says. “This equates to fast delivery within one day after placing an order, which is very important to a customer like Samsung.”
With flat-screen success as the foundation of Samsung and Trelleborg’s relationship in South Korea, Song says the future looks bright in terms of opportunities for both companies.
www.tss.trelleborg.com