Merck Korea (CEO Dr. Woo-Kyu Kim), the Korean subsidiary of leading science and technology company Merck, has established OLED sublimation purification facilities and strengthened its OLED material supply capacity by reducing the OLED material supply distance from the previous 8,000 km to just 60 km.

On the 8th, Merck completed the installation of OLED sublimation purification equipment in the OLED Application Center (OAC) located in Poseung, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do, and held a completion ceremony with Gyeonggi-do Economic Planning Director Jeong Do-yeong, Pyeongtaek-si Deputy Mayor Choi Won-yong, major customers, and a congratulatory video from the German headquarters team.

Since 2020, Merck has invested 20 million euros (approximately 25 billion won) in Korea to introduce new OLED sublimation and purification facilities including downstream at the Merck Technology Center in Poseung, Pyeongtaek, and to introduce additional deposition machines for quality inspection at the OLED Application Center.

This ensures that the mechanical characteristics, manufacturing processes and ERP system management of the new facilities remain the same as those of the plant in Darmstadt, where Merck's headquarters is located, while reducing the approximately 8,000 km time it took for the products to be delivered. The distance was shortened to about 60 km.

Merck has been actively researching OLED technology for over 20 years and has collaborated with researchers and panel manufacturers around the world to develop new types of displays, such as rollable, transparent, and foldable, as well as materials specialized for OLED displays.

In particular, in Korea, the foundation for R&D, production, and stable supply of OLED materials was established in 2005, and two R&D centers were established in Korea - the OLED Synthetic Material Development Center (2011) and the OLED Application Center (2015).

The quality and purity of OLED materials and products for implementing next-generation displays are important factors that greatly affect performance and lifespan, which are the most important factors for display panels, and vacuum deposition inspection and sublimation purification processes are the most important processes that panels must go through to achieve the best performance.

With the operation of the new sublimation purification facility, Merck is expected to overcome the logistics disruption and supply disruption caused by COVID-19 in the rapidly growing OLED market, respond in line with customers' needs and demands, and contribute to the development of materials and stable supply for cutting-edge high-purity OLED panels pursued by customers.

Dr. Michael Heckmeier, Head of Global Display Solutions, said, “Korea is an important innovation and production hub for Merck. The OLED market continues to grow not only in TVs and smartphones but also in a variety of mobile applications such as tablets and notebooks, and we believe this investment will enable our customers to drive innovation in the display industry faster and more efficiently. “With the operation of the new sublimation purification facility, we will be able to respond quickly to customer demands in the Asian region and contribute to the development and stable supply of high-demand, cutting-edge, high-purity OLED panel materials,” he congratulated.

Dr. Woo-Kyu Kim, representative of Merck Korea, emphasized, “Korea is leading the global OLED market with a market share of over 80%. As a leading electronic materials supplier, Merck is committed to supporting leading Korean panel manufacturers through a strong and stable global supply network for display materials. We are pleased to be able to quickly provide Korean customers and partners with the latest Korean technologies, including innovative materials and solutions, with the introduction of the newly completed sublimation purification facility.”

Meanwhile, Merck sees Korea as one of its key investment target countries, and last year announced an investment of approximately 600 million euros to expand production space and promote R&D and innovation as part of its “Level Up” growth program.