Westaim Corp V.WED

Here it is folks

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For immediate release Westaim’s iFire Technology produces 34-inch color inorganic EL display Toronto, Canada – December 16, 2003 - iFire Technology Inc., a subsidiary of The Westaim Corporation, today announced that it has successfully scaled its flat panel display from 17 inches to 34 inches using its proprietary thick film dielectric technology (TDEL). The 34-inch color prototype display has a truly native high definition television (HDTV) format of 1280 by 768 pixels and is the largest flat panel ever produced using inorganic electroluminescent technology. iFire’s original plan called for the achievement of a monochrome display by year end, but process advancements including its single phosphor Color-by-Blue™ method resulted in a color display ahead of schedule. Work started on the 34-inch panel in October 2003 when larger tools capable of processing 34-inch panels were installed in iFire’s facility. The 34-inch display has a viewable area 350 per cent larger and 320 per cent more pixels than iFire’s previous 17-inch prototype display. “More than tripling the size of a working flat panel prototype from 17 inches to 34 inches in only three months is unprecedented and is a testament to the simplicity of the technology and the value of the joint development work that has been done with our partners Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. and SANYO Electric,” said Anthony B. Johnston, President of iFire Technology. “Together, we have produced a large size, direct view display that we expect to be the first flat panel technology to provide high performance at a consumer price.” The 34-inch display is fabricated using low-cost processes that are expected to be directly transferred to commercial production. The first several steps in the fabrication, referred to as the front-end process, are completed by iFire’s joint development partner, Dai Nippon Printing, at its primary production line in Kashiwa, Japan. The panels are then shipped to iFire’s facility in Toronto, Canada, where the remainder of the fabrication steps, referred to as the back-end processes, are completed, including the electronics assembly steps. “Proving the scalability of our technology to larger sizes is an important milestone for iFire and Westaim,” said Barry M. Heck, President and CEO of Westaim. “The significant upgrades to both equipment and facility allow iFire to produce product-sized 34-inch prototype displays and continue moving along its commercialization path.” The first prototypes have been made on a partially completed toolset using manual handling and operation. Over the next six months, iFire expects to complete the installation of the remaining prototype tools and focus on optimizing processes to improve performance and reduce defects. iFire expects to publicly unveil a full-color 34-inch prototype at the 2004 Society for Information Display conference and technical symposium, to be held in Seattle, Washington, May 23-28. iFire recently commissioned an independent study to compare its manufacturing model against both Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and Plasma Display Panel (PDP) in a Generation 6 manufacturing facility. iFire hired a highly respected engineering firm that engineers and designs Generation 6 LCD production facilities in Asia. This detailed study has suggested that iFire will have an estimated 50 per cent cost advantage in both capital and module costs versus mid-30 inch LCD TVs in a mature manufacturing environment. iFire Technology has developed a flat panel display with low cost and high performance potential called thick-film dielectric electroluminescent technology (TDEL). With superior video performance characteristics and a substantial manufacturing cost advantage over other flat panel display technologies, iFire’s proprietary TDEL technology is poised to become the affordable, high performance alternative for the mass consumer flat panel television market. iFire plans to initially target the mid-30-inch screen size segment of the flat panel television market in partnership with major consumer electronics companies. The Westaim Corporation’s technology investments include: NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals, which researches, develops and commercializes wound care and pharmaceutical products based on its nanocrystalline silver technology; and iFire Technology, which has developed a revolutionary low-cost flat panel display. Westaim's common shares are listed on Nasdaq under the symbol WEDX and on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol WED. -30- For more information contact: The Westaim Corporation David Wills 416.504.8464 [e-mail] www.westaim.com This news release may contain forward-looking statements, including those concerning production cost advantages, applications of technology, production methods, manufacturing productivity and manufacturing performance. These statements are based on current expectations that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and the Company can give no assurance that these expectations are correct. Various factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in such statements, including the risk factors set forth in our Form 40-F as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company disclaims any intention or obligations to revise forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this Cautionary Statement.