Asahi Glass is to increase its production capacity of glass substrates for PDPs (Plasma Display Panels) and will make an initial investment of about JPY 15 billion to set up a substrate processing pla…
Asahi Glass is to increase its production capacity of glass substrates for PDPs (Plasma Display Panels) and will make an initial investment of about JPY 15 billion to set up a substrate processing plant at the former site of the Osaka Power Plant of Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. (Suminoe-ku, Osaka City). Asahi Glass plans to start construction of the new plant in August 2006 and start volume output of large PDP glass substrates by May 2007. PDP volume is forecast to rise to 17 million units in 2009 from 9.8 million units in 2006, assuming annual growth of 20% over the period. The company predicts that glass substrates will increase in size, while demand for PDP glass substrates will continue to rise significantly. Asahi Glass, which has increased its glass substrate production capacity to meet the rise in demand, has decided to set up a new processing plant for cutting, end-face processing, and ITO coating of large glass substrates, with the aim of boosting its ability to meet further increases in demand and the upsizing of glass substrates. The investment was made possible by invitations from the Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City governments, which allowed Asahi Glass to lease the premises and start construction at an early date. The site is well placed in terms of the utilization of existing infrastructure. Asahi Glass started making PDP glass substrate (PD200) in 1996 at the Kansai Plant, becoming the world pioneer in the field, and the company still maintains a global market share of nearly 80% in this sector.