Altech Diversifies Into Optoelectronics With AOT Brand

Altech Auto Security Co., Ltd. Is a leading mobile electronics manufacturer in Taiwan, and the firm's Maat brand of car alarm products has been widely welcomed by customers worldwide. The TS16949, QS 9000, and ISO 9001: 2000-certified company decided last year to diversify into the optoelectronic systems field.

Caesar Lei, Altech's sales manager, points out that after intensive evaluation, his company decided to set up an optoelectronic division in the middle of last year, targeting the rising demand for liquid crystal display (LCD) modules, LCD monitors and in-vehicle multimedia systems. According to Lei, the transformation was the greatest in Altech's history, and as a result, the company has great reason to feel confident in its future direction.

After extensive market investigation, Lei says, Altech recruited a group of talented professionals for the new division and mapped out an overall development strategy focusing not only on auto-application products, but also on much wider markets.

Altech's new division first aims at developing a series of platforms, such as LCD monitors, which will play important roles in developing new niche markets.

Altech's R&D staff has developed 3.5-, 4-, 7-, and 10.2-inch LCD monitors and modules, and is working on 15-inch products. "Altech's LCD modules and monitors, produced under the most stringent quality requirements in the automotive application market, focus not only on in-vehicle applications, but also on medical uses, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) services, door-alarm systems, and many other applications," points out Lei. "Altech is not only a monitor producer, but also a solution provider that offers both hardware and software solutions for customers that need the highest quality, safest, and most durable monitors."

Compared with their competitors' offerings of small-to-medium-sized LCD monitors, states Jimmy Ou, manager of Altech's optoelectronic division, Altech owns an integrated advantage. "Our basic strength comes from the fact that Altech is a company that has won approvals from all the key quality and management certification groups, including the ISO, TS, and QS. We have also gained quality and safety certifications such as the CE- and E-marks for all of our products," Ou explains. "In addition, Altech produces monitors made to the highest industrial standards, such as a temperature-resistant range of -40 to +85 Oc, (compared with the -10 to +65 or 70 Oc range of Altech's competitors), the use of only the best-quality panels developed for automotive applications, and the adoption of specifically designed Ics in our circuits."

Altech's second series of optoelectronics products, according to Ou, is an integrated 7-inch LCD monitor with a built-in global positioning system (GPS) navigation module. The new product features a touch-screen function and compact size. According to Ou, the LCD and GPS combination is a new option for users that want to get a GPS navigation device along with a display platform for future multimedia applications such as digital TV, analog TV, VCD/DVD playback, and game playing.

The third product currently being pushed by Ou's new division is a dual-antenna Digital Video Broadcasting-Terrestrial (DVB-T) box. As for the future, Ou says, the optoelectronic unit will develop an integrated GPS/DVB-T onboard unit.

Altech's auto-security division has also continued to research newer and better items. The company recently developed a super slim and compact three-dimensional (3D) electronic tilt sensor, the GFM-88. In addition to the unit's small size, the new tilt sensor features 3D digital movement sensing and adjustable sensitivity, making it the best sensor for detecting the unexpected movement of a car or the theft of its wheels. Lei explains that the GFM-88 can automatically sense the degree of a slope-whether uphill or downhill-when a car parks on it. When the car's driver arms the security system, the sensor is automatically enabled. With past sensors, the tilt-sensing functions in a car parked on a slope were disabled.

After about 20 years of growth, Altech has become one of the top-three exporters of auto-security systems and accessories in Taiwan. Currently, the company runs a plant in Taiwan with 70 workers, and another in mainland China with 200 workers.

Altech's "Maat" brand is already a leading name in the global auto-security market, and now the "AOT" mark has joined it to represent the company's optoelectronics products worldwide.