Terapixel Ltd
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Terapixel Ltd.
Olarinluoma 9
FIN-02200 Espoo
Tel. + 358 0 423 537, 358 500 438 559
Fax + 358 0 423 813
E-mail
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Terapixel Ltd is a prime example of how product commercialization skills and the spirit of innovation are energized at Otaniemi Science and Technology Park. Terapixel got its start in the Semiconductor Laboratory at the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT). It went through the SPINNO Programme for development of new, technology-based firms, and now it is Europe's leading producer of large-area hard surface masks based on laser writing. The company had its genesis in the latter half of the 1980s, when VTT was improving its small-mask production line and was also involved in the EUREKA mask project. The people at VTT noticed that they could expand the laser scanning method from small to large masks and thereby speed up production. The resultant large mask product proved to be more accurate technically than the large masks produced using traditional photoplotters and stepping. Since there were no large-area, hard surface mask manufacturers in Europe at the time, the market prospects looked promising. That first creative spark was fanned into a flame, and that flame was christened Terapixel in 1993. The idea behind the firm's name may not be clear to the layman, but a specialist working in the field will no doubt find it full of meaning. In the last two years Terapixel's turnover reached FIM 3 million, and it is expected to double in the coming year. Terapixel's laser masks have obviously won international recognition - over 80% of its production is being exported. Terapixel's customers include flat-panel display manufacturers in Europe and the Far East, and American television screen manufacturers, who need shadow masks. Arto Salin, a former VTT researcher, heads the company in his new role as an entrepreneur. He really appreciates the unique expertise and interlinking networks of people and information that are concentrated in the Otaniemi area. The technology mentor VTT in turn rented out its vibration-free cleanroom for Terapixel. The laser mask company does not necessarily need to search farther afield to find suitable partners. For example, a company specializing in diamond-hard coatings was found in the same area.
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