Konica Minolta to Build a New Pilot Production Line for OLED Lighting toward Commercialization
~ Developing the Advanced Roll-to-Roll Coating Method ~

Tokyo (November 13, 2009) - Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. (Konica Minolta) has been developing organic light-emitting diode (OLED) lighting as one of its promising new businesses in the field of energy and environment. The company today announced a construction of a new roll-to-roll pilot coating line to manufacture OLED lighting within its Hino facility in Tokyo. The pilot line is dedicated to establish production technology toward mass-production and to sell the product on the limited basis. Spending 3.5 billion yen, the line will be completed in the autumn of 2010 and the product will be commercialized within the fiscal year 2010.

In March 2007, Konica Minolta signed a strategic alliance agreement with General Electric Company of the United States to accelerate the development, aiming to commercialize the OLED lighting within the fiscal year 2010. Prior to the alliance, in June 2006, Konica Minolta succeeded in developing a white OLED device with a world record power efficiency of 64 lumens per watt at 1000 candela per square meter, while having practical light emission level of approximately 10,000 hours - a brightness suitable for lighting applications.

Such technologies as material, coating, multi-layer design, and optical design technologies, nurtured through the development of photographic film and optical lens, have been fully adopted in the development of the OLED lighting. For the pilot line, Konica Minolta designed and developed its own roll-to-roll coating method to manufacture flexible plastic-base OLED lighting. This method will serve as the key to accomplishing cost advantage when the OLED lighting flourishes in the future.

OLED lighting is attracting attention as the next generation lighting having such unprecedented features as flexible, thin, light weight, and sheet form. In addition, it features high energy efficiency, relatively low temperature, and ease of recycling since it is mercury-free unlike fluorescent lightings. Furthermore, OLED lighting technology is mild to eyes and friendly to people, since it is free of ultra-violet rays and is sheet form.

Konica Minolta considers OLED lighting as one of the most promising energy and environmental conscious new businesses, where we can take full advantage of our core technologies.