Goertek leads way in VR

Breakthroughs include recently released ultra-small air pressure sensors used in smartphones, wearable devices, drones, Tang Zhihao reports.

Goertek, a precision component and wearable-devices solutions provider in the Weifang Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone, has made great achievements in its industrial upgrade and transformation processes.

The company - which is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange - released an ultra-small air pressure sensor on July 10. The sensor can provide lower energy consumption and higher precision solutions for products including smartphones, wearable devices and drones. Goertek said the company sold nearly 1 billion units of the sensor in 2016.

"Goertek is now a leader in virtual reality and augmented reality industry," said Jiang Bin, chairman of the board of directors at the company.

Jiang added Goertek has made breakthroughs in quite a few emerging technology fields. It is one of the top VR headset suppliers in the world in term of sales volume.

With support from Weifang, where the company's headquarters is located, Goertek plans to construct a Goertek VR Industrial Park, in an effort to promote the VR industrial chain in the region.

Staying ahead

Goertek, a key acoustic product manufacturer known to supply some of the world's leading companies, saw its annual compound growth rate of net profit reach 75 percent between 2010 and 2014. However, with the slowdown in the smartphone and tablet markets, the company's growth rate also slowed down in 2015.

"Goertek benefited from its big clients strategy," Jiang said. "However, we have been looking for other ways out."

The management at Goertek believes that development and applications of new technologies such as VR and artificial intelligence in different fields will strongly support its growth in the coming years.

In 2016, the company expanded its product portfolio from acoustics to robotic and automation products, AI, VR and AR, smart wearable products, among other things.

Goertek also established close relationships with global leading smart technology developers aiming to support its industrial market and transformation plans.

This year, Goertek entered into a strategic relationship with United States' Kopin by acquiring a 10.1 percent stake in the company in April, becoming the largest shareholder. The partnership will enhance Goertek's competitiveness in the wearable devices sector.

In 2015, it acquired AM3D, a Denmark company specializing in 3-D audio technology development, to provide more advanced solutions to its VR businesses.

In 2014, Goertek acquired Denmark's Dynaudio Holding to strengthen its position in the high-end speakers market.

Global R&D centers

Goertek is taking measures to boost its research and development capacity and to keep it one step ahead of its competitors.

In the first quarter of 2017, Goertek's R&D expenditure reached 379 million yuan ($56.4 million), accounting for 8.36 percent of its overall quarterly income.

The figures provided by Goertek show that the company's overall turnover reached 4.53 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2017, an increase of 68.33 percent year-on-year.

Apart from establishing R&D centers in China, Goertek also invested heavily on building up R&D centers in developed countries such as the United States, South Korea and Japan. Every R&D center has its unique advantages and is serving different business units in Goertek. For instance, the R&D center in Japan focuses on the acoustics and materials fields. The one in Taiwan focuses on application-specific integrated circuits, micro-electro-mechanical systems and optics. The one in Beijing has an emphasis on acoustics, algorithms and software.

Goertek also strengthened its partnerships with leading domestic and overseas institutes and universities to support its talent pool expansion and core technology development.

On July 21, the company signed an agreement with the Beihang University and Weifang government to build a research institute in Weifang to promote robotic and smart technologies development.

"The institute will support China's smart technology industry development and strengthen Weifang's innovation capability," said Liu Shuguang, Party chief of Weifang. "It will help Weifang to accelerate steps in replacing old economic growth drivers with new ones."

Contact the writer at tangzhihao@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/08/2017 page12)