Balda AG - a German company backing Apple’s iPhone
Ralf Haller
April 11th, 2007
Now the fact that there are no German mobile manufacturer’s left does not mean that the whole country has quit the mobile phone industry. One company that enjoys strong investments and a rising stock is Balda AG (you might - like me - have never heard of them) who are supplying the number one differentiator for the Apple iPhone - its big screen. Not just a normal screen but one that is harder, so more scratch-resistant, resists smudging (can be operated with your fingers), housing and display are a single unit (very thin designs are made possible) and last but not least can sense multiple taps at once, which is also an essential feature for a finger-operated device. Now how did the housing manufacturer Balda AG get access to such a technology, you might ask. And that is the other big surprise, they got it from a Chinese company, TPK, whose Taiwanese founder, Michael Chiang, acquired with the deal 15% of Balda, which makes him the biggest shareholder. A great example of what is possible when management keeps their eyes open for new innovations and also has the guts to make bold strategic moves (although Balda of course was forced to do something due to losing BenQ as a prime customer over night). Now just one comment - their tagline “tools for success”. That one is a bit boring and not too striking - maybe they could invest some of their current good sales returns into making that better…