Faced with a supply shortage of LCD panels, Japan“s NEC Corp. will expand capacity quickly by buying a used line.
According to a recent report, NEC Kagoshima Ltd., NEC“s display-manufacturing subsi…
Faced with a supply shortage of LCD panels, Japan“s NEC Corp. will expand capacity quickly by buying a used line. According to a recent report, NEC Kagoshima Ltd., NEC“s display-manufacturing subsidiary, will install a color-LCD production line purchased from Advanced Display Inc., the joint venture of Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and Asahi Glass Co., at its plant in Kagoshima. The second-generation line, which handles 370 x 470-mm glass substrates, will begin operation in April, with a capacity of 25,000 14-inch LCD panels per month. Parent Mitsubishi, however, would not confirm the sale and declined to comment. The Advanced Display venture is expanding production with 2.5-generation lines that handle 410 x 520-mm substrates. NEC“s total investment will be between US$ 90-36 million for a new clean room and US$ 54 million for production equipment, which is about 30% less than starting a line from scratch, the report said. NEC produces color thin-film-transistor LCDs at NEC Kagoshima and at NEC Akita Ltd. Altogether, these fabs have a capacity equivalent to 220,000 14-inch panels a month. When the new line starts operation next spring, NEC“s capacity will be 245,000 panels a month.