Press Release, July 2000

 Ormecon Chemie and Covion Semiconductors are co-operating on organic light emitting diodes

Ormecon Chemie reports about interesting progress in the market introduction of its unique Organic Metal during the running fiscal year 2000. The Frankfurt, Germany, based Covion Semiconductors acquired a license from Ormecon on a special chemical for the new technology of organic or polymeric light emitting diodes (cf. the attached joint press release). With the help of Ormecon’s development it is possible to create several square centimetre big display area with fine patterns for showing sharp pictures with high contrast, at higher performance, less leak current and longer lifetime. This will allow the display industry to proceed to its goal to commercialise OLEDs and PLEDs.

So it will be possible in future to have letters and numbers moving over the display of mobile phones with bright shine, and to receive information, emails or else comfortably. Liquid crystal displays as used today could be replaced. Many other applications (like flat panel displays for computers or small television screens) are possible and are under development by Covion’s customers.

This is not the only success in the running year, Dr. Bernhard Wessling (Managing partner in Ormecon Chemie) can add to this year’s list: The Join Venture "Nippon Ormecon", established together with a Japanese steel construction company Tech Taiyo Kogyo (TTK) a year ago, is very successful in marketing CORRPASSIV, the anti-corrosion coating system developed by Ormecon based in its Organic Metal. A bigger order by a community near Yokohama, comprising several hundred street illumination poles, has been completed and was delivered to the customer. More than 20 other public objects have been realised by Nippon Ormecon with CORRPASSIV, or are ordered and in preparation. It is surprising to note that Japan is the first country in which the Organic Metal is used with its passivating effect against corrosion by public customers in increasing scale.

Together with the Japanese Department of Construction, this new corrosion protection system is being evaluated on 4 representative outdoor sites in Japan under controlled conditions.

During a visit in Japan in June this year, Dr. Wessling was able to win an additional partner: the globally acting specialty chemicals company Sanyo Chemicals Ltd., know e.g. for its chemicals used in electronics, or for its superabsorbers, will represent Ormecon Chemie in diverse electronic applications and in the printed circuit board industry, and hence strengthen Ormecon’s position in Asia.

Also for Taiwan, a representation has been implemented; there, Persee Chemicals, a leading producer of chemicals for the PCB industry, will represent Ormecon for its product ORMECON CSN (the new solderable surface finish for printed circuit boards, again based on the Organic Metal). A first production line is under construction and will start soon.

With this step, Ormecon is now active in 18 countries in the world with 23 sales partners. Over 200 customers are using the Organic Metal.

Background information:

The Organic Metal Polyaniline (which belongs to the group of so-called "conductive polymers") is being produced and marketed exclusively by Ormecon, which continues to perform basic and applied research on it. Applications have been developed for corrosion protection, as solderability preservative for printed circuit boards, as transparent antistatic coatings and now recently as "hole injection layer" in the revolutionary OLEDs and PLEDs (organic light emitting diodes).

On the area of corrosion protection, Ormecon is being supported financially by the German Environment Foundation which has realised the enormous potential of this technology for saving environmental resources.

Ormecon has been established in 1996 as a 100% subsidiary of the private Zipperling Kessler & CO. and continued the research originally started at Zipperling around 20 years ago. Zipperling is now, after having sold its previous plastic compounding business mid of 1996, a pure holding. It is owned by four private investors, one of which is Dr. Bernhard Wessling.

Additional Information under "http://www.ormecon.de", as well showing research and product information, reference objects, reference customers, sales partners world-wide etc.