3M, Quanta Form Company to Manufacture Multi-Touch Solutions for Personal Computing Market

3M and Quanta announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to form a new company. The new company will be based in Singapore and will manufacture and commercialize projected capacitive touch solutions for the personal computing market, combining Quanta’s extensive industry knowledge and manufacturing expertise in the PC market with 3M’s projected capacitive technology expertise.

This announcement expands on the previously announced collaboration between 3M and Quanta, enabling mass production of touch modules, sensors, electronics and systems on personal computing devices, including: all-in-one computers, monitors, netbooks, notebooks and tablet devices. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Quanta’s comprehensive knowledge of the PC industry, strength in technology and manufacturing, and innovative computer design capability matched with 3M’s proven materials science and manufacturing innovations gives the new company the ability to provide the industry with solutions for consumers and their personal computing devices,” said Joaquin Delgado, executive vice president, Electro & Communications Business, 3M.

As projected capacitive touchscreen solutions become more prominent in computing devices, both original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and original design manufacturers (ODMs) need reliable and high-quality solutions to meet market demand. Coupled with increasing software requirements around multi-finger input for consumer devices, the new company is uniquely positioned to provide the latest touchscreen technology and manufacturing capability to meet the needs of these key customers.

“In looking at multi-touch solutions currently available on the market, we believe that 3M’s multi-touch technology is one of the best solutions for OEM and ODM companies,” said C.C. Leung, vice chairman, Quanta Computer. “Quanta’s manufacturing capabilities and market expertise are vital to the new company in bringing the next-generation technology to consumers.”

The new company is separate from 3M Touch Systems Inc., which remains a wholly-owned subsidiary of 3M. Its focus will be on the design and manufacturing of touchscreen solutions to serve vertical enterprise markets, including: casino gaming, education, food service, digital signage, healthcare, retail point-of-sale and self-service markets.