Ritek

RITEK Corporation

Type	Public[1]
Industry	Computer Hardware Optical Media, Flash Memory, Green Product
Founded	29 December 1988
Headquarters	Hsinchu Industrial Park, Taiwan
Key people	Founder：Jintai Yeh Chairman：Gorden Yeh Vice President：Jennifer Yang
Products	Optical Storage, Flash Memory, Portable Hard-Drive, PV Module & System ,PMOLED Display, ITO Glass, Touch Panel, NANO-Technology Product, BIO-Technology Product, Plastic Product
Revenue	550 million USD (2016)
Number of employees	3000 (Taiwan)
Subsidiaries	RITEK Foundation PVNEXT Corporation AIMCORE Corporation (Public) U-TECH Corporation (Public) UCHAIN Logistics. Co., LTD. Prorit Corporation RiTdisplay Corporation RiteDia Corporation CASHIDO Corporation RitFast Corporation Kunshan Zhonglai Electronic Technology Co., LTD. Hutek Corporation Advance Media Inc. Conrexx Technology Ritrax Corp. Ltd.(U.K.)
Website	www.ritek.com

Established in Taiwan in 1988, RITEK Corporation manufactures compact disk products such as CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, HD DVD, Blu-ray Disc and Blu-ray M-Disc, storage cards such as CF (CompactFlash) cards, SD cards and MMC cards (MultiMediaCard), memory stick and consumer electronics. Over recent years, RITEK also made inroads to green energy by manufacturing solar models and offering installation services for solar systems (Photovoltaic system). Meanwhile, RITEK also produces solar cells and touch panel products such as PMOLED and ITO glass. RITEK has also developed and launched a few products in nano and biotechnology.^[2] The company's English name is a portmanteau of the words “right” and “technology”.

Founder

Mr. Yeh Ching-Tai, founder of RITEK Corporation, started to manufacture and market vinyl records in 1957. In 1958, he published the album “Green Island Serenade”, the hit by Zi Wei, the famous singer of that time. At that time, the production process was completely manual. Waste gases and toxic chemical solutions were all over the manufacturing environment at the high temperature of 45 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, the materials deteriorated easily and as a result, the yield was low. Quality depended entirely on the experience of manufacturing supervisors. From materials to production, the process cost a lot of time and money. It was a tough business indeed. During this period, Mr. Yeh Ching-Tai made improvements in different aspects. He introduced new technologies and machines from Japan, looked for new materials and developed new manufacturing processes. With the advancement in both software and hardware, the vinyl record industry in Taiwan finally left behind the old, tired and toxic environment, and began to churn out higher quality products.

Due to the insufficient of the recording equipment and facilities in Taiwan at that time, Mr. Yeh Ching-Tai felt it would be necessary to preserve Peking Opera, Nan-Guan and Bei-Guan as educational and cultural heritage. In 1980, he invested a significant amount on the creation of Platinum Studio in 1980, by importing from Switzerland a 24-track recorder. It was the first multitrack recorder in Taiwan. The studio also invited technicians from Japan to give instructions. It was at that juncture that Mr. Yeh Ching-Tai learned that the Japanese people were starting to produce compact disks. In 1985, the R&D and ramp-up of compact disks were transforming the record industry as a new material and technology. Mr. Yeh Ching-Tai realized that digitalization was the trend for the record industry and he immediately initiated on R&D activities on compact disks.

RITEK Corporation was established in 1988 with efforts to manufacture compact disks. In 1990, the company produced the first compact disk in Taiwan and put an end to Taiwan’s reliance on imports from Japan. This also directly contributed to the booming of the local music market.

Global presence

1. Taiwan : Chungli, Hsinchu
2. China : Yangzhou, Kunshan
3. Vietnam : Ho Chi Minh City
4. Korea : Cheongwon County
5. The Netherlands : Ridderkerk
6. United States : Los Angeles

Trade marks & brand

RITEK, RIDATA, TRAXDATA, ARITA

Milestones

1950

• Former Chairman of RITEK Corporation, Mr. Yeh Ching-Tai, set up Min Li Plastics (明理塑膠工廠) after he graduated. The factory produced plastic cigarette boxes and polyethylene milk bottles. During that period, he purchased a second hand electroplating tool from Japan, with the original intention of plating chromium on plastics to enhance durability. However, this didn’t work out. He then moved to electroplate copper and nickel on the stampers of vinyl records. This was how he got into the record business. Meanwhile, Mr. Yeh Ching-Tai established First Vintage Record and Platinum Studio.

1960

• Mr. Yeh Ching-Tai, former owner of First Vintage Record and Platinum Studio was a big shot in the record business. He set up vinyl record production facilities in Sanchungpu in 1960. As part of the business for First Vintage Record, he took Sally Yeh, a famous singer, to perform and market albums throughout department stores. Mr. Yeh Ching-Tai also introduced the recording technology from Japan to establish Platinum Studio.

1980

• Mr. Yeh Ching-Tai imported from Switzerland 24-track recorders and invited technicians from Japan for instructions. At that time, he mentioned that digitalization was the trend for the record industry. Japan was already trial producing compact disks. To ensure time to market, Mr. Yeh Ching-Tai recruited a group of engineers from the Industrial Technology Research Institute in 1985 to manufacture compact disks. They started with simple plastic pressing to accumulate technological expertise. [3]

1988

• Mr. Yeh Ching-Tai founded RITEK Corporation. [4]

1989

• The company received awards in the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions.

1990

• In May, the company manufactured the first compact disk in Taiwan with the support from the Mechanical and Systems Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute. [5]

1991

• The company became a formal member of the IFPI Members' Foundation in Taiwan.

1994

• The company set up facilities for the production of compact disks in Australia.

1996

• RITEK Corporation had its IPO in Taiwan.
• The company initiated CMA (Compact Disk Manufacturers Association) aiming to protect copyright for CD replication.
• The company set up facilities for the production of compact disks in the U.S.
• The company manufactured the first CD-RW in Taiwan.
• The company manufactured the first DVD in Taiwan.

1997

• The company signed a copyright verification agreement with the Taiwan offices of the Music Publishers Association.
• The company set up facilities for the production of compact disks in the U.K.
• The company manufactured the first DVD-R in Taiwan.
• The company became the first compact-disk maker in Taiwan that obtained the ISO9001 certification.

1998

• The company manufactured the first DVD-RAM in Taiwan.

1999

• The company became the first compact-disk maker in Taiwan that obtained the ISO14001 certification.
• The company set up with Philips JV facilities for the manufacturing of compact disks in Germany.
• The company manufactured the first OLED in Taiwan.
• U-TECH Media Corporation was formed as the largest pre-recorded medium manufacturer in Taiwan.
• Ritek Foundation was established.

2000

• The company built the first fully automated OLED mass production lines in the world.
• RiTdisplay Corporation was established as the first OLED manufacturer in Taiwan.
• The company became the first compact-disk maker in Taiwan that obtained the QS9000 certification.

2001

• HUTEK Corporation was established in China for the production of compact disks.
• PRORIT Corporation was founded as the world’s largest CD boxes and disk packaging manufacturer.

2002

• Li Wenshang, Marketing Assistant Manager, Global Strategic Marketing, RITEK Corporation, indicated that RITEK is the first company in the world capable of mass-producing CD－R/RW, DVD－R/RW, DVD＋R/RW and DVD-RAM, MD (licensed by Sony), MO and Data Play. Our management philosophy is commitment to knowledge & innovation, racing against time and pursuit of customers’ satisfaction. [6]

2003

• RME was set up in Germany as a printing and packaging plant for compact disks.

2004

• Our subsidiary in Japan, RITEK Japan Inc., was established.

2007

• RITEK North Africa Inc., our subsidiary in North Africa, was established.
• AimCore Technology Co., Ltd. was established as a manufacturer of ITO glass.

2008

• RITEK’s memory stick as part of uniforms received iF Product Design Award from iF International Forum Design.
• RITEK entered a strategic alliance with Scheuten, a solar company in Europe.

2009

• PV Next, a thin film solar manufacturer dedicated to (copper indium gallium selenide), was established.

2011

• RITEK Solar worked with SolarEdge to develop new business opportunities in solar systems.
• RITEK showcased the brand new IM series solar modules at Intersolar, Munich, with a 25% improvement in power generation efficiency.

2013

• RITEK launched M-DISC DVD and M-DISC BD, storage solutions that promise to last hundreds of years.

2014

• RITEK entered into the long-term storage medium market.

2015

• RITEK started to manufacture PMOLED wearables.

RITEK Foundation

• Ritek Foundation was established in 1999.

Equity investments

• AimCore Technology Co., Ltd. : ITO glass
• U-TECH Media Corporation : pre-recorded compact disks
• U-Chain : warehousing and logistics
• RiTdisplay Corporation : PMOLED
• RiteDia : diamond-like carbon coating
• RitFast Corporation : touch panels
• CASHIDO : nano technology
• PRORIT Corporation: high-precision plastic injection
• RitPower: solar modules

References

Coordinates: 24°52′17″N 121°1′13″E / 24.87139°N 121.02028°E / 24.87139; 121.02028