Intevac, Inc., supplier of thin-film processing systems, has signed a joint development agreement with a major provider of glass and glass ceramic materials. While specific details of the terms of the partnership will remain confidential, the definitive agreement includes a five-year period of exclusivity for this key customer, who will deploy the TRIO™ for consumer electronics applications. In order to maintain exclusivity of the TRIO™ platform for this market, there is a minimum revenue requirement of approximately $100 million in system sales to Intevac over the five-year period. The selling price and gross margin profile of the TRIO™ is similar to that of its flagship 200 Lean® system. Intevac will continue to develop additional customer relationships for the TRIO™ for other glass coating applications, such as in the automotive and point-of-sale display markets.

“For decades, Intevac has provided the materials science expertise and high-productivity manufacturing platforms that have deposited ultra-durable and highly-precise coatings onto several billion glass substrates in the hard drive industry,” said Nigel Hunton, president and chief executive officer of Intevac. “Our expertise in producing rugged and highly precise coatings in high-volume manufacturing environments is well-suited to enable mass production of thin film technologies for the consumer device market.”