Samsung has said it will build a 7th- generation (7G) LCD production line expected to start making 32W-46W sizes in 2006. The move is separate to Samsung“s 7G joint venture with Sony, which is about …
Samsung has said it will build a 7th- generation (7G) LCD production line expected to start making 32W-46W sizes in 2006. The move is separate to Samsung“s 7G joint venture with Sony, which is about to come on stream. Samsung will invest about USD 2 billion to build a clean room and purchase equipment for a production line in Tanjeong, South Korea, with a monthly capacity for 45,000 substrates. The new line will use 1.8 x 2.2 m glass to produce up six 46W panels from a single substrate, Samsung officials said. The company has invested USD 286.3 million in starting construction. The news came as Samsung prepares for the April 2005 launch of production on the 7G line that it will operate jointly with Sony. The first line, with a monthly capacity for 60,000 substrates, will be used to produce 26W-46W sizes, company officials said. Sony invested about USD 1 billion in the first 7G line and it was uncertain whether the company would provide any funding for the 2nd line. The Tanjeong complex will eventually operate 4-5 production lines as part of a multi-year strategy, Marketing VP James Sanduski said: “We have the financial wherewithal and we see the opportunity in the marketplace to do this.” Meanwhile, LG.Philips and Nippon Electric Glass (NEG) have formed a joint venture called Panju Electric Glass, outside Seoul, South Korea, to polish and process 7G glass. The joint venture, which will be 40% owned by LG.Philips, will source glass substrates from NEG“s Japanese factories. Construction of the polishing plant on land leased from Gyunggi Province is expected to begin in 2Q 2005, and completion is timed to coincide with the start-up of LG.Philips“s 7G production in the 1H of 2006. Despite forming the joint venture, LG.Philips will continue to source substrates from “various suppliers” including Samsung Corning Precision Glass, a spokesman said. LG.Philips buys substrates from Samsung-Corning and NEG for the 6G factory it opened in 2004.