Commit to Chinese ITO market development

Asian Metal: Hello, Mr. Hu, thank you for accepting Asian Metal's interview. Please give a brief introduction about your company's business.

Founded in 1978, Solar Applied Materials Technology Corporation ("SOLAR") has a history of 40 years. At the beginning of establishment, our company focused on the recycle and refinement of precious and rare metals, especially gold and silver, in which filed we have always taken the leading position in Taiwan. Relying on the recycled experience in related precious and rare metals, we entered the industry of target material applied in the production of CD and hard disk from 2000; and the evolution of relative technology further promoted SOLAR to be the global leading producer in the industry.

Besides, we have expanded our business to TFT LCD, LED, solar power and semi-conductor industry etc in the recent years. In terms of R&D and manufacture & recycle technology of critical materials in all industries, we actively set up basic technology platform to improve application benefit and value management of materials.

Depending on the continuous value innovation and breakthrough over the past 40 years, SOLAR has formed a complete economy circle from recycle, refinement to product manufacture and application of eight precious and rare metals including gold, silver, platinum, palladium, ruthenium, indium, gallium and tantalum. In the future, we will make efforts towards the development of specially-used chemical products and high value-added materials globally.

Asian Metal: Thank you for the introduction about your company, would you please introduce yourself?

Having graduated from Taiwan University Institute of Applied Mechanics, I take charge of R & D, manufacture and sales of key materials of photoelectricity industry including TFT LCD, Touch Panel, LED and solar power etc.

Asian Metal: In terms of the precious and rare metals, your company mainly concentrates on ITO target materials. Could you share with us the achievements of your company in the field in recent years?

It has been ten years since SOLAR began to develop ITO target materials, during which related technology was almost established and accumulated independently by our team. And thus, we have the ability and advantage of total control and utilization of technology rather than relying on the support from Japanese or South Korean plants. During the process of establishing relative ability, we will have the advantage in rapidly and independently accumulating experience in optimization of ITO products or even evolution to other advanced transparent conductive electroceramics materials.

In the meanwhile, we have developed more advanced and beneficial operating modes by management experience obtained in the past ten years. When it comes to production costs and benefit, we have confidence and get ready to face competition and challenges in the future.

Asian Metal: In the 11th International Indium & Germanium & Gallium Forum, insiders paid high attention to the development strategy of Solar ITO target materials and supporting projects. Would you like to describe the advantages of the project?

During the development of display target materials, SOLAR lays emphasis on "creating value for clients", which means that what clients need is not a supplier who can only provide ITO products, but a strategic partner that can create more complete and diversified products as well as service value.

For example, except ITO products, we can also sell aluminum target, molybdenum target and other alloy target materials to clients and provide clients with a connected sequence of product service by taking advantage of technology and service in indium recycle as well as raw material control and binding, which will largely reduce the complexity faced by clients in purchasing and recycling multiple target materials.

Asian Metal: Faced with more and more ferocious competition among target material suppliers, what advantages do you think your company has?

ITO, called as "throat material" within the company, is one of the most important target materials and products in display industry, which will be impacted greatly once something goes wrong with the ITO supply. China is a large producer and consumer of indium; however, insiders in the display industry purchase ITO from foreign countries at great expense every year. Without the domestication of ITO, not only will we lag behind others in future production scale but also the healthy development of the whole industry will be impacted.

Just as I mentioned above, we almost finished the accumulation of the R&D technology of ITO independently. Moreover, we get high evaluation in product quality from display users.

Asian Metal: The domestication process of ITO target materials remains the focus of the industry. Do you regard it as an opportunity or challenge?

There are continuous potential partners in China Mainland who would like to cooperate with us and the situation started from five to six years ago. Therefore, the domestication process of ITO target materials is absolutely a good opportunity for us. But the detailed direction and plans of the process will not be disclosed here for the involvement of future and long-term layout between SOLAR and partners.

However, what we can make sure is that we will contribute the experience in ITO target materials accumulated in the past ten years and shoulder relative responsibilities during the domestication process. Please wait and see our performance in the coming two to three years.

Asian Metal: What is your development direction in 2018 or even in the coming three to five years?

Recently, the hottest word in the industry development has been so-called "circular economy" in both domestic and overseas markets. The successful mode we keep, no matter in hard disk and CD or rapidly developing display, semiconductor and solar industry, gives high priority to raw materials in layout. And thus, in the coming three to five years, we will pay more attention to the upstream layout of raw materials or downstream layout of material utilization and consumption.

We hope both upstream and downstream market players can take control of primary minerals and urban minerals more actively and make them higher value-added products through recycle, production and manufacture. The recycled utilization of materials can deepen the cooperation chain with suppliers and clients and also get more effective results in cost management. We will begin to construct and conduct pilot operation of related layout and experience in the production base and purchasing center in Taiwan, and will gradually promote it to China Mainland and overseas markets.

Asian Metal: Thank you again for accepting our interview and hope your company a brighter future.