US-based Syntax-Brillian is on a roll. Brillian, once a single-product, LCOS-based MD-TV maker looks to have reinvented itself through a series of joint ventures and mergers. As a result, it is moving from obscurity to become a major player in the highly competitive, world-wide consumer electronics space.

Steve Sechrist
Senior Analyst and Editor
of Projection Monthly

In November of 2005, the company entered into a synergistic merger with Syntax Group, owner of the popular Olevia brand LCD-TV. By the end of that quarter the company leveraged key Taiwan and Chinese relationships for both microdisplay light-engine and LCD-TV assembly; expanded distribution to three new retailers and integrated its 1080p LCOS MD-TV into existing Olevia brand channels. It collaborated with Taiwan-based Kolin to develop a 65-inch Kolin-branded LCOS MDTV for the Chinese and Taiwan markets, and it reported earnings of +1M in new LCOS microdisplay orders in a 10K-unit light-engine deal.

By jumping on the flat-panel band wagon when it did, the Syntax side of the business established the Olevia brand as a "Top 10 Seller" (ranked Number 8 ) among LCD-TVs during the highly competitive 2005 holiday shopping season, getting its sales primarily through lower-cost retail and warehouse outlets.

Since then the company has announced a joint venture with Henan Costar Group, a state-owned Chinese enterprise, to manufacture Brillian LCOS-based light engines, giving the company a volume source for US distribution and, more importantly, "state-sanctioned" access to the Chinese market. To help soak up panels, Syntax-Brillian announced it will supply Headplay Inc. with LCOS-based light-engine parts for Headplay’s next-generation personal headsets for the consumer electronics market.

The company also announced a JV with the Brazilian family-owned business conglomerate Group Senna, a household name in the region. The JV, named "Olevia Senna do Brasil," will manufacture, market and support the full line of Syntax-Brillian’s Olevia LCD-TVs 20 inches and greater, customized for the Brazilian and Latin American markets.

Think of it. In less than seven months, Brillian has moved from being an obscure single-play MD-TV engine and projector manufacturer to a CE powerhouse - but that’s not the full story. Through the merger with Syntax Group, parent Kolin of Taiwan holds the controlling stake in Brillian, and through that deal was able to fill five out of the nine seats on the new board of directors. All this movement, particularly in China, is due in no small way to the Kolin connection.

After the merger, Kolin moved quickly into key markets and established critical JV relationships to secure low-cost light-engine, MD-TV, and LCD-TV manufacturing on a global scale, while bolstering the Olevia brand in the West and the Kolin brand in Asia.

In essence, Syntax-Brillian has become the US marketing arm of Taiwan-based Kolin and represents, perhaps, the face of the new millennium in consumer electronics corporations. Syntax-Brillian is demonstrating what it takes for a lesser-known brand to gain a foothold against the likes of Sony, Sharp, and Matsushita in the global CE space.