Electronics major Toshiba, based in Japan, plans to invest USD 43 million to build a plant in Poland to produce large liquid crystal display (LCD) television sets, a newspaper reported on 10 September…
Electronics major Toshiba, based in Japan, plans to invest USD 43 million to build a plant in Poland to produce large liquid crystal display (LCD) television sets, a newspaper reported on 10 September. Toshiba plans to construct the plant in a city of Wroclaw, in southwestern Poland, to begin operation by mid-2007, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said. It would produce 1.5-2 million 32-inch or larger units for sale in Europe by 2009, the business daily said, adding that the factory would employ about 1,000 workers. By the end of September, Toshiba hoped to have set up a local subsidiary to operate the plant, which will be the company“s second TV assembly factory in Europe after one in the British city of Plymouth. Toshiba would invest about JPY 5 billion (USD 43 million) to build the facility, the daily said, adding that the plant would help Toshiba triple its annual production capacity of flat-panel TVs in Europe, where the LCD TV market is rapidly expanding. Toshiba would buy parts from its South Korean rival LG Philips Co., which had a Polish plant near Toshiba“s planned facility, to save costs, it said, adding that the LG Philips plant was scheduled to go into operation next year. The European LCD TV market is projected to expand to annual sales volume of 30 million units by the year to March 2010 from some 8.6 million in the year to March 2006. With the new plant, Toshiba aimed to raise its market share of 26-inch or larger flat-panel TVs in Europe from 6% to 10%, it said. By bulding the plat, Toshiba hoped to catch up with the world“s big three – Samsung Electronics of South Korea, Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands and Japan“s Sony, Nihon Keizai said.