NEC committed to supplying NEC-branded plasma displays in the Americas

CHICAGO, IL -- March 11, 2004: NEC Solutions (America), Inc. stands firm in its commitment to supply award-winning NEC-branded plasma displays in the Americas with abundant product availability, continued service and support, and full warranty coverage amid the February 2004 announcement from Tokyo, Japan that Pioneer Corporation will acquire NEC Plasma Display Corporation.

The official contract between Pioneer and NEC is scheduled to go into effect at the end of March 2004 and the new company is expected to start within the first half of 2004. Pioneer Corporation, which will take over NEC’s plasma manufacturing facility and research and development resources in Kagoshima, Japan, will become one of the largest plasma display suppliers in the world.

According to Koichiro Inoue, sales and marketing vice president for NEC’s Plasma Display Corporation, “The contract will not affect NEC’s global branded plasma business. NEC will retain dedicated resources in Japan to continue the growth and future development of NEC-branded displays.”

Pioneer management in Japan states, “After the acquisition, NEC will be an extremely important customer for Pioneer and we will continue to supply NEC-branded plasma display panels from the Kagoshima plant.”

“NEC Solutions customers and partners in the Americas can rest assured that they will continue to have access to the same superior plasma display technology, reliable service and responsive support for which NEC is renowned,” explains Ron Gillies, senior vice president and general manager for the Visual Systems Division of NEC Solutions America. He adds that NEC Solutions will continue to focus on offering industry-leading plasma displays for professional multimedia, digital signage and residential entertainment applications.

Major display research tracking services indicate that plasma sales are expected to grow exponentially over the next few years. According to IDC, the plasma market will average about 70 percent growth through 2007. Gillies explains that while both the NEC and Pioneer brands will exist in the marketplace, NEC’s intent in the Americas is to meet the increasing demand for plasma displays while raising awareness about the viability of the technology and its significant image quality, price and performance advantages over other large screen technologies.

About NEC Branded Plasma Displays

NEC offers a wide range of branded plasma displays in 42”, 50” and 61” sizes that are optimized for limitless flat-screen applications in the professional multimedia, digital signage and residential entertainment environments. NEC plasma displays, known for their outstanding ‘larger-than-life’ image and high quality, reliable designs, have been successfully incorporated into demanding commercial environments such as command & control and flight information display.

Offering the ultimate in image quality, NEC’s plasma displays incorporate a host of exclusive technologies to ensure superior performance. NEC’s Capsulated Color Filer™ technology offers true color reproduction and NEC’s AccuCrimson™ produces some of the purest reds available in a plasma display today. AccuShield™ Phosphor Protection gives users the most comprehensive set of features to combat image retention of any plasma available today.