Wednesday, 03 December 2008 09:18

Sharp’s cutting-edge technologies, innovative solutions and original designs make the company outstanding on the market. Sharp is one of the world leaders in LCD and solar technology, but it also develops and manufactures electro technical components in the areas of optoelectronics, infrared and flash memory electronics. With each and every product Sharp strives to become a one-of-a-kind company that creates the 21st century lifestyles with electronics technology. At the moment it is initiating a new era of television by launching two LCD AQUOS TV series with LED backlight system, already rated as having the best picture available on the market today.

Written by: Anna Chudzik

Being part of a giant

Sharp Electronics Poland (SEP) is a Warsaw-located subsidiary of Sharp Electronics Corporation, a global producer specializing in manufacturing consumer and business electronics. The beginnings of the company date back to as early as 1912, when Tokuji Hayakawa established a small metalworking shop in Tokyo. In 1915 Mr Hayakawa invented a mechanical retractable pencil called the “Ever Sharp Pencil”, which gave the name to the company. Today the Corporation employs more than 50,000 people, nearly half of whom are employed outside Japan. Sharp operates from 64 bases in 30 countries and its products are distributed to 164 countries worldwide. 1968 was a watershed in the history of the company. The enterprise established its first subsidiary in Europe, located in Hamburg, which also became the location for the European business headquarters. Since then the company has been steadily expanding its business activities in Europe, growing to a total of 17 bases comprising a laboratory, 4 manufacturing sites, 11 sales subsidiaries (including Warsaw) and a finance company. One of the plants – Sharp Manufacturing Poland – is located in Poland, near the city of Toruń, where LCD modules and Sharp AQUOS LCD TVs have been manufactured since 2007.

Philosophy of business

What should come first to our mind when we think of Sharp is undoubtedly innovation, inherent in the corporate philosophy of the company from the initial stages of its activity, when the innovative “Ever Sharp Pencil” created a stir all over the world. The product remains a symbol of Sharp’s pioneering spirit up until today and reflects its willingness to set up the trends on the market. As the company claims, it not only strives to expand its business volume, but it is also committed to the improvement of human living all over the world. This is possible thanks to the use of state-of-the-art technology, commitment to innovation, impeccable quality, environmental protection and interesting design. For almost one hundred years, the company has played an important role in technological development and managed to win customer confidence through two basic principles, which remain the business creed: honesty and creativity. By sticking to these ideals, Sharp employees remain aware of the need to innovate and improve while deriving genuine satisfaction from their work and making a meaningful contribution to society. Sharp’s philosophy, reflecting the company’s willingness to create new lifestyles for the 21st century, can be summarized by its today’s motto: “We make products that others want to imitate.” Those products range from high-quality Sharp AQUOS LCD TVs, via audio systems, monitors, LCD TFTs for TVs and computer monitors, memory chips, Blu-ray players, microwave ovens and fridge freezers to air conditioners.

Success through research and development 

Sharp’s continuous success is the result of an exemplary research and development policy, thanks to which the company is considerably contributing to the progress in technology throughout the world. Among the recent innovations which enjoyed a spectacular success one can enumerate Sharp’s Plasmacluster Ion Technology, whose use is spreading at an accelerating pace. Sales of the products equipped with the technology reached 20 million units worldwide at the end of December 2008. Sharp has been able to achieve such a success within eight years after its first application in air purifiers in September 2000, where it was used to deactivate harmful substances such as viruses and mold in the air. Based on the results of collaboration with independent research organizations, Plasmacluster Ion technology has been deployed across Sharp products, including air purifiers, air conditioners, front-loading washers and dryers, LED lightings and also refrigerators, but now it is also introduced in products from other industrial sectors. The IG-A100 Ion Generator, introduced in October 2008, is currently in wide use in 58 countries around the world. Air purification with Plasmacluster Ion technology received high marks as a revolutionary technology supporting the resolution to numerous problems, especially those concerning various allergies. Apart from implementing innovative technologies, Sharp also attaches particular importance to the construction and development of innovative manufacturing plants. Due to the growing demand for LCD TVs worldwide, Sharp has decided to build the “Manufacturing Complex for the 21st Century” including a new LCD panel plant, which will start operations in October 2009. It will employ a number of innovative LCD technologies in conjunction with adopting the world’s first 10th-generation glass substrates. The new building is located in Sakai City in Japan.

Spectacular products

A wide array of Sharp products is available in a few categories, including consumer electronics, business electronics, home appliances and solar systems. Moreover, the development of core digital technologies and components for electronic products (e.g. optoelectronics, infrared and flash memory electronics) belongs to the core competences of Sharp. Among consumer electronics one can enjoy LCD TVs in particular, but there are also Blu-ray players, audio systems and home cinema. The product spectrum in business electronics ranges from calculators, copiers and printers, electronic dictionaries, LCD monitors, multimedia projectors, to document and security solutions and fax machines. When it comes to multimedia projectors, the recently released PG-F267X is particularly noteworthy. It combines high brightness and the convenience of short-throw projection design with the high image quality and reliability of BrilliantColor™ technology and DLP® technology. The projector also features 2500 ANSI lumens, which ensures superb picture brightness in any conference room or classroom setting. 2200:1 contrast ratio helps to achieve superior color accuracy and clarity as well as more realistic and lifelike image reproduction. Moreover, thanks to this unique design, a 100” diagonal image can be projected from a distance of only 1,3 m from the screen. All in all, the projector will deliver excellent presentation performance and it will find applications both in business and education. As far as home appliances are concerned, Sharp can offer microwaves, air-conditioners, air purifiers and fridge freezers. Thanks to Sharp’s Plasmacluster Ion technology, the products live up to customers’ expectations. Among a wide range of fridge freezers, there have been two spectacular models released by Sharp this year – SJ-F750SP-BK and SJ-F800SP-BK. Their main characteristic is the impressive size, thanks to which they can hold a considerable amount of food. Equipped with Advanced Hybrid Cooling system and Honeycomb deodorizer, they will ensure freshness and perfect taste of all kinds of food kept there. Apart from being big and practical, they stand out as the most elegant and stylish models, which give every kitchen (or any other room) an individual, unique character. All Sharp products add immense value to the importance of the company, the products which play a key role in building a successful brand are LCD TVs. They always connote quality, innovation and impeccable picture.

The magic of pictures – LCD TVs

Sharp has always set new standards in the field of flat screen television. As an inventor of the LCD TV and with many years of experience in LCD technology, Sharp, like no other company, has been responsible for developing this technology from mere niche market to an absolute success story of the consumer electronics sector. Ever since developing the world’s first 14V-inch color TFT LCD in 1988, Sharp has consistently led the world in LCD TVs with larger screen sizes, introducing a 45V-inch model in 2004 and a 65V-inch model in 2005, and also aimed for the highest levels of achievement for image quality. In 2007 the world saw the largest, 108V-inch LCD TV, manufactured at Sharp’s Kameyama Plant No. 2. The screen measures 2,386 by 1,344 mm and features a Black Advanced Super View technology. Sharp continued to achieve the highest quality benchmarks. In November 2008 the Corporation introduced 65- and 52-inch models AQUOS XS1 Series, which achieves high image quality, advanced environmental performance, and a thinner design than ever. All those features make the TVs truly worthy of being called the “next generation” of LCD TVs. More was yet to come, however. To anticipate its customers’ needs, Sharp is currently launching two new LCD TV series with LED backlight system – the Sharp AQUOS LC-LE700E and the Sharp AQUOS LC-LE600E series which provide a brilliant picture quality that is second to none. The TVs, available in sizes ranging from 32 to 52 inch, can boast a spectacular 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, an even higher level of colour reproduction and constant screen illumination of over 90 per cent. LED segments, that are fitted behind the LCD screen in the Sharp televisions, provide greater brightness and deeper colours than those that are placed on the edges of the screen. Excellent picture quality is obtained also thanks to a full HD resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixel as well as 100 Hertz technology (within the LE700E series). Additionally, both series use Sharp’s proprietary next-generation Full HD 1080p X-Gen LCD panel with 10-bit processing. At the moment the Sharp AQUOS models are the Sharp flagship products, constituting a strategic potential of the company and they will probably remain unrivalled on the market for a long time. However, one can guess that Sharp will continue to widen the range of its state-of-the-art products so that the customers can always get maximum satisfaction.