Turning smartphones into smart profits

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. In a birthday tribute, China Daily takes a far-reaching look at the region's industries and how they have helped generate growth. 

Smartphones are translating into smart profits for BOE Technology Group Co Ltd. 

The company is a leading supplier in semiconductor display products, and has its headquarters in Beijing and a manufacturing base in Ordos, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region. 

In the first half of this year, BOE expects profits to reach at least 4.2 billion yuan ($624 million), an increase of 900 percent compared with the same period in 2016. 

"For two consecutive years, we have ranked No 1 globally in terms of patent application numbers in the field of semiconductor displays," Wang Dongsheng, chairman at BOE, said in a major speech last year. 

"Displays are the hardware interfaces of IoT (internet of things) systems and thin-film sensors are their core data-collection devices," he added. "We will dedicate ourselves to technological innovation and the exploration of applications in these areas." 

With cutting-edge technology at the heart of BOE's business, the majority of the group's production lines have operated at full capacity. 

Crucial to this for the internet of things, company has been the manufacturing of smartphone display panels and, in particular, the 5.5-generation LTPSLCD/AMOLED products. 

This is a low temperature polysilicon liquid crystal display and active matrix organic light emitting diode unit. 

The LTPSLCD/AMOLED plants churn out flexible screens for high-end smartphones, tablets and wearables. Extremely pliable with sharp colors, the display units are transforming the mobile sector. 

For BOE, the decision to invest 22 billion yuan on a line which can produce 8 million smartphone screens a month has paid off. 

Launched in 2013, the production facility in Ordos was the first of its kind in China. It was also only the second such facility in the world to manufacture up-to-date small and medium-sized LTPS and AMOLED products, according to the company. 

Ordos Yuansheng Optoelectronics Co Ltd, a subsidiary of BOE, runs the operation in Inner Mongolia, and its clients include major global and domestic smartphone makers. 

According to market data, BOE's global market share of TFTLCD panels for mobile phone, tablet and notebook ranked No 1 in the first half of this year, and that of its panels for monitors and TVs were No 2. 

In 2016, BOE's yearly new-patent applications amounted to 7,570, 80% of which are invention patents. In the first half of 2017, BOE's new-patent applications exceeded 4,000. In total, BOE has over 55,000 usable patents, ranking among the top of the industry. 

BOE production lines and manufacturing factories run with a highly-automated smart operation system. At present, BOE has 11 production lines (two under construction), including the world's biggest production line in Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui province, and two 6th generation flexible AMOLED production lines in Chengdu and Mianyang in Southwest China's Sichuan province. 

This is part of the company's commitment to innovation, and the nation's industrial strategy to move from "Made in China" to "Created in China".