Every company experiences pivotal moments that shape its future—milestones that spark innovation, growth, and transformation. At OLEDWorks, one such moment came ten years ago with the acquisition of its Aachen, Germany operation, until then the OLED business of Philips Lighting, from Royal Philips Electronics. This autumn marks a decade of remarkable achievements from this talented team and state-of-the-art facility, whose contributions have helped propel the company forward and illuminate a brighter path ahead.
The Acquisition
In 2014, Philips was preparing to shut down its OLED division, deciding that it no longer aligned with the corporation’s strategic direction. Years of development and OLED lighting manufacturing expertise were at risk of being lost, and the entire Philips OLED team faced unemployment.
Thankfully, OLEDWorks CEO David DeJoy contacted the team at Philips and was connected with Ivo Rutten, then a Philips employee and now Head of Display Business Strategy and Partnerships at OLEDWorks. From this call, a plan was made for OLEDWorks to acquire the Philips OLED division and integrate it with their team of OLED technology experts and their novel, scalable OLED development and production facility in Rochester, NY.
In April 2015, the business terms to sell the Philips OLED division to OLEDWorks were mutually agreed. In October 2015, the acquisition was finalized, adding a team of world-class, experienced OLED experts and the world’s state-of-the-art OLED lighting manufacturing line to OLEDWorks.
Billboard outside of OLEDWorks’ Aachen facility
Rapid Scaling
With the new Aachen facility, OLEDWorks quickly expanded its production capabilities and market presence. The original Rochester facility focused on support of Aachen’s OLED lighting technology roadmap and on OLED microdisplay development and commercialization efforts, while Aachen brought their expertise in mass production, rapidly commercializing innovative OLED lighting technologies. With the immediate integration of OLED experts and a sudden increase in manufacturing capacity, OLEDWorks was able to secure new customers, adding new employees required to support this growth. Today OLEDWorks has more than 250 global team members.
The acquisition saved jobs, retained OLED experts for our business, and preserved a marvelous, unique, and proprietary multi-stack OLED production line.
Technician at OLEDWorks state-of-the-art production facility in Aachen
The OLEDWorks manufacturing facility in Aachen currently produces the top-performing OLED lighting products in the world. It is certified to IATF 16949, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and TISAX standards, ensuring superior quality and reliability in every product.
What’s Next for Aachen?
The OLEDWorks Aachen operation continues to focus on the mass production of Atala OLED lighting panels—OLED technology certified for automotive applications. Atala products can be found in series vehicles on the road, including the recently announced Audi Q5 SUV and Audi A6 e-tron.
But this is just the beginning of what our team in Aachen has in store. With recent funding, including a €30 million financing from the European Investment Bank and a €4 million grant from the Regional Economic Development Program of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, OLEDWorks is set to double its production capacity following actual market demands. This expansion will accelerate technological development, enable a faster response to customer demands, and bring new permanent jobs to the Aachen region.
With two innovative and complementary facilities working together to deliver the world’s highest-performing OLED products, OLEDWorks is poised for further growth and remains committed to inspiring and empowering our customers.
Bendable OLED lighting demonstrator with panels produced in Aachen facility
