Displays on display in San Jose

It could be called the ultimate event to see — and be seen at.

Display Week, which runs from May 12 to 17 in San Jose, focuses on the latest electronic display and visual information technologies.

Several Chinese companies hope to learn from and maybe show a thing or two to the more than 250 global exhibitors and counterparts.

Thousands of industry practitioners, investors, policy-makers and scholars shared tech breakthroughs and innovations at the event, which was sponsored by the Society for Information Display (SID).

Through seminars, symposiums and networking, they also examined the entire display ecosystem, from R&D, engineering, design and manufacturing to supply chains, marketing, sales, financing and end-user markets.

Introduced were industry advances in hand-held smart electronics, AR/VR, auto, signage, TV and wearables. Also, the next wave of display innovation, from OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) materials and quantum dots and new reflective display technologies, according to Ross Young, the SID/ Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) Investor Conference chair.

Participants noted a sharp gap between the soaring market demand for next-generation display products and manufacturers' capacity limits.

Because of the boom in sectors such as big data, the Internet of Things, autonomous driving, gaming, smart homes and phones and wearables, demand for display products has increased sharply in recent years.

A shortage also exists in the display-glass sector. "Glass is the keystone material in the display industry, and the glass segment has been perhaps the most profitable business in the industry in this century," said DSCC president Bob O'Brien.

According to an April report released by DSCC, glass demand will jump to 564 million square meters in 2019, a 6.6 percent year-on-year increase from 2018.

The industry capacity for display glass, which will increase from 152 million square meters in late 2018 to 159 million square meters by the end of this year, demonstrates a sizable demand-versus-supply gap.

The DSCC report also showed that most of the display-glass increase would occur in China, as China's portion of worldwide demand will increase from 40 percent in the first quarter of 2018 to 50 percent by the end of 2019.

Yang Shujuan, general manager at the brand center in Visionox, a Beijing-headquartered, OLED-focused company, said her team was committed to the research, development and mass production of cutting-edge display products in China and beyond.

Established in 2001 from a Tsinghua University OLED project team, Visionox was the first Chinese company to participate in 2002 in the creation of international standards for the OLED industry and now holds more than 4,000 OLED tech-related patents.

Leading an 18-member delegation with their most advanced prototypes, Yang showcased a handful of their display screens and panels.

Currently, Visionox has two sixth-generation flexible display screen production lines in Gu'an, Hebei province, and Hefei, Anhui province, to provide foldable screens to Xiaomi.

Display Week will hold its annual meeting next year in San Francisco.