Sharp to double LCD TV output at 8G plant

In order to meet the growing global demand for large-size LCD TVs, Sharp Corporation on Monday said it will start operation of a second production line for large liquid crystal display panels at its Kameyama Plant No.2 from January 2007, two months ahead of its original schedule.

Sharp will also double the production capacity of large liquid crystal display panels at its eighth-generation (8G) plant, the Japanese electronics manufacturer depicted in its press release.

It will expand its production capacity to 30,000 substrates sized at 2,160×2,460mm each month from the current production capacity of 15,000 units, the release said.

Originally, the Osaka-based company had planned to launch its second production line in March 2007.

Sharp said that the robust demand for its large size models such as the 46V- and 52V-inch AQUOS manufactured at Kameyama plant No.2, especially in the Christmas season, has induced the company to start the production ahead of the scheduled time.

Sharp's Kameyama plant No. 2, the world's first to cut panels from eighth-generation glass substrates, started 8G LCD panel operations in August.

Sharp’s 8G glass substrates (2160×2460 mm) provide optimal production efficiency for LCD panels used in 40-inch and 50-inch class LCD TVs, and are nearly double the surface area of the sixth-generation substrates (1500×1800mm), used at the first Kameyama plant.

Sharp said its 8G glass substrates are well suited for eight 40- and six 50-inch class LCD TV panel production.

Sharp is spending 150 bln yen for the No 1 and No 2 LCD panel production line at the Kameyama plant, and plans to spend up to 200 bln yen more to triple monthly production capacity to 90,000 units in 2008.

Sharp has set 150 billion yen ($1.26 billion) aside for the No 1 and No 2 LCD panel production at the second Kameyama plant and plans to spend as much as 200 bln yen more to triple plant’s monthly production capacity to 90,000 units in 2008.

Sony Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., who use seventh-generation glass in their joint venture, called S-LCD, also intend to bring a new eighth-generation plant into stream.

Some media reports, early this year reported that the companies are planning to establish their second factory, which will cut panels from advanced 8G glass plates, bigger and more efficient than 7G glass, close to the S-LCD plant in South Korea.

According to the estimates of a research firm, DisplaySearch, Sharp was the world's third-largest LCD TV maker by value behind Samsung and Sony in July-September.

The Japanese electronics company is also looking up to build a new plant in Mexico for making LCD TVs, in order to fulfill the growing demand in North America. “The demand for LCD TVs, especially those with bigger panels, is growing in the North American market,” a spokeswoman for the company said.

Although the details of the plan had not been decided yet, but the media reports say the new plant would be built near a facility in Baja California, and would produce around 100,000 liquid-crystal-display (LCD) television sets a month from next fall.

Shares in Sharp slipped 0.7 percent to close at 2,045 yen, underperforming Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index, which was in fact unchanged.