Barco and China Electronic Corporation (CEC) Panda, a major Chinese provider of technology products and IT solutions, have established a joint venture to address the needs of the Chinese control rooms market.
For Barco, the joint venture - Barco China Electronic Corporation (Nanjing) Visualization System Co., Ltd - will provide direct access to the Chinese market, serving its ‘China for China’ strategy. The agreement will give CEC-Panda the opportunity to benefit from Barco’s product portfolio and its brand name. Barco owns 65% of the joint venture, while CEC-Panda Home Appliance owns 35%.
China represents 50% of the worldwide Total Addressable Market (TAM) for large video walls – both LCD and rear-projection – and so the country is key to establishing a global leadership position in the control rooms market. The activities of the joint venture will include developing, manufacturing, marketing, selling and servicing Barco and CEC-Panda branded control room products for the Chinese market.
Van Zele, CEO of Barco, commented: “Establishing this joint venture with CEC-Panda, and integrating the strong aspects of the two companies, will prove beneficial for both parties. We see a major potential for tiled LCD solutions in China, and CEC – a leading supplier of LCD products and IT solutions, and an important system integrator to the Chinese and global market – is the perfect partner for us to achieve our goals. Together, we have exactly what it takes to be the #1 control room solutions supplier in China.â€
Lai Weide, Vice President of CEC-Panda, added: “Barco is a well-established name in China, renowned for its high quality and innovative control room solutions. With our combined strengths, Barco CEC Panda JV will achieve a leading position in the Chinese control rooms market. We are very eager to take up this challenge.â€