(Yicai Global) May 18 -- Blackcow Food Co. has started trial operations at a sixth generation active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) flexible panel production facility in Gu'an county in China's northern Hebei province.

The plant is expected to start full operations in the second half of the year, the Shantou-based firm said in a statement, adding that it will products will supply the in wearables, handsets and VR display sectors, among others.

Blackcow Food, formerly a food producer, has shifted its focus toward screen production after a material assets reorganization in the second half of 2016. Given changes in its principal business, the company has decided to change its name to Visionox Technology Inc., which is still subject to the approval of its shareholders meeting, it said on May 10.

The production line will be able to make 30,000 sixth-generation AMOLED panels a month once it becomes fully operational, the equivalent of nearly 100 million smartphone screens.

With a total investment of nearly CNY30 billion (USD 4.7 billion), the production line is one of the most advanced flexible screen production lines in China. It is not only capable of producing curved and full screens already available on the market but can also make folding and fully curved displays.

AMOLED screens are self-luminous, have a wide viewing angle, a high contrast ratio and are more responsive. They also have higher refresh rates and substantially lower energy consumption than OLED screens.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. is the biggest AMOLED panel maker in the world. However, several production lines have been built in China in recent years, and the country's production capacity is set to grow rapidly. For example, the sixth-generation AMOLED screen production line built by display giant BOE Technology Group Co. already started mass production last October.

Editor: William Clegg