TCL Technology Group Corp. (originally an abbreviation for Telecom Corporation Limited) is a Chinese partially state-owned electronics company headquartered in Huizhou, Guangdong province.
TCL develops, manufactures, and sells consumer electronics like television sets, mobile phones, air conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators, and small electrical appliances.
[6] The company was founded in 1981 by 2 close friends, Tomson Li Dongsheng and Luca Situ under the brand name TTK as an audio cassette manufacturer.
[8] In 1985, after being sued by Japanese cassette manufacturer TDK for intellectual property violation, the company changed its brand name to TCL by taking the initials from Telecom Corporation Limited.
[11] In November 2003, TCL and Vantiva (then-named Thomson SA) of France announced the creation of a joint venture to produce televisions and DVD players worldwide.
[17] In January 2009, TCL announced plans to double its LCD TV production capacity to 10 million units by the end of 2009.
[17] In November 2009, TCL announced that it had formed a joint-venture with the Shenzhen government to construct an 8.5-generation thin film transistor-liquid crystal display production facility in the city at a cost of $3.9 billion.
[18] In March 2010, TCL Electronics raised HK$525 million through the sale of shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, in order to fund the development of its LCD and LED businesses and to generate working capital.
[20] In 2014, TCL changed the meaning of its identifying initials from "Telephone Communication Limited" to a branding slogan, "The Creative Life", for commercial purposes.
[29] In 2020, TCL Technology acquired Samsung Display's assets in Suzhou, China, including a Gen 8.5 fab and a co-located LCD module plant.
[36] TCL's primary products are TVs, DVD players, air conditioners, mobile phones, home appliances, electric lighting, and digital media.