If the World Expo is the window to the future of technology, then the pavilion featuring Samsung Electronics will be a definite must-see at this year's event, currently open in Shanghai. Under the theme of ``Green Samsung,'' the company demonstrates how to bring harmony between technology and the environment.
An array of environment-friendly products are on display at the show, such as televisions and monitors that are made without using toxic heavy metals and solar-powered cell phones made from bio-degradable plastics.
Low-noise laser printers, water-saving washing machines, and memory chips that operate on a very low electricity current are other products that Samsung boasts in the green sector.
Samsung, which surpassed Hewlett Packard to become the largest technology company in the world by revenue last year, has created its event hall in line with the Shanghai Expo's slogan of ``Green City, Green Life.'' The firm has used its high-tech LCD and LED screens as well as other cutting-edge electronic gadgets to create a futuristic space, in coordination with Hyundai Motor and LG Group.
``We are bringing a different approach to visitors at the Shanghai Expo, from what we have used at other exhibitions. We want to present a friendlier corporate image to the Chinese citizens,'' a company official said.
But probably the most popular item on the show will be the 3D TVs, where Samsung is leading in the world. The company has recently joined forces with DreamWorks Animation and Technicolor to accelerate the worldwide deployment of 3D movies to households, and the Shanghai Expo will forecast how the strategy will work out in the Asian market. ``China is no longer a production base. It is the world's leading marketplace,'' the official said.
Samsung, the most respected company in its home country according to Forbes Korea, opened its first branch in China in 1985. The first production facility was built in 1992, and now it has 13 production subsidiaries, 10 sales subsidiaries and six research centers. Some 41,000 Chinese people now work for Samsung China.
Currently Samsung has more than 20 percent of the mobile phone market in China, and is the No. 1 brand in the third-generation market.