FLAT PANEL DISPLAY
UPDATE
June 2007
McIlvaine Company
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Asahi Glass to Change Site for New Glass Substrate Production Line
Japan-based Asahi Glass has decided to establish its fifth Taiwan-based glass substrate plant at the Tainan Technology Industrial Park (TTIP) while moving the production lines of glass processing and cutting from the Tree Valley Park industrial park in Kaohsiung to TTIP. The maker decided to move the lines to TTIP since construction of related facilities may be postponed due to a government environment assessment team recently saying that the Tree Valley Park industrial park is not suited for development.
Since Asahi Glass already has three glass substrate plants in the Yunlin Technology Industrial Park (YTIP), with a new plant at the park to start operation by year-end, the maker has decided to choose TTIP, which is only four kilometers away from Tree Valley Park, to stay close to customers, which includes Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO).
Horizon Technology Opens New Facility in Lake Forest, CA
Horizon Technology, a Lake Forest-based integrator that designs, engineers, and integrates LCD and other displays, said it has opened a new facility in Lake Forest, CA. The new facility include a new Class 10,000 clean room, display integration, test and lab areas. The firm provides integration of storage and display products, including LCD touch screen displays, LCD kits, LCD open frames, controller boards, and other products. The firm is an integrator for LCD manufacturer NEC Display Solutions.
SVA to Build Sixth-Generation Plant in Shanghai
SVA Group said it will invest heavily to establish a sixth-generation LCD panel plant in Shanghai's southwest Xinzhuang, a newly approved state-level LCD industry park.
Sixth-generation production adopts the most advanced technology in domestic liquid crystal display industry, which enables makers to provide LCD TVs of 32 inches to 40 inches.
SVA Group has established a joint venture with NEC to operate a fifth LCD panel line, which mainly produces panels for LCD monitors or laptops.
Samsung, LG Philips and Sharp use the latest technology to construct eighth-generation or higher production lines.
A sixth-generation LCD panel line costs about US$2 billion, experts said.
China's top three LCD panel makers SVA, Beijing-based BOE Technology Group and Jiangsu Province-based IVO will set up a joint venture, which will be announced by the end of June if successful, according to the companies.
Xinzhuang Industrial Park, founded in 1995, plans to introduce US$2.5 billion in foreign investment and reach US$10 billion in annual sales in future.
With a total investment of US$6 billion, the park will have material and component providers, including color filters, to establish a complete LCD industry chain.
BenQ New English Name to be 'Qisda', to Turn Profitable in 2008
While BenQ just announced it will change its Chinese name from "Jia Da" to "Jias Da" (transliterated from Chinese), the company recently stated the official English name for the new company will be Qisda, which stands for "quality innovation speed driving and achievements."
The new names (Chinese and English) will be effective on September 1, 2007. With a spin-off project, Qisda is expected to turn profitable in 2008, said KY (Kuen-Yao) Lee, chairman of BenQ.
Qisda will mainly focus on LCD monitors, projectors, MFPs (multi-function peripherals) and handset ODM/OEM businesses.
The Prime View International (PVI), a small- to medium-size panel maker in Taiwan, plans to add investments of US$3 million in an LCD/LCD module (LCM) maker in China.
CMEL Volume Producing OLED Panels
Chi Mei EL Corporation (CMEL), a subsidiary of Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) announced the maker started volume produce active-matrix (AM) OLED (organic light-emitting diode) panels in May, with monthly capacity able to reach 500,000 2-inch equivalent panels at present.
Zhe-yang Chen, president of CMEL, said the company has begun shipping 2-inch AM OLED panels to China- and Japan-based customers and end products adopting CMEL's panels will hit the market in July at soonest. CMEL now is sampling 2.2- and 2.8-inch AM OLED panels to the customers, added Chen. These panels will be used in applications such as mobile phones and digital still cameras (DSCs), Chen noted.
The company now sees related yields at 60%, which will be improved to 80% by year-end, said Chen. Achieving high yields in the AM OLED industry is not easy; even leading makers such as Samsung SDI only targets yields at 60-70% initially.
CMEL said it will develop 3- to 8-inch AM OLED panels in the future and aims to launch 4.3-inch panels in 2008.
Oki Expands Driver LSI Production in Thailand
Oki Electric Industry Co. Ltd announced it will increase production at its Thailand plant of driver LSIs for LCD panels from 10 million per month to 15 million.
To respond to the rapidly expanding demand of full high-definition LCD TVs, Oki plans to expand the Thailand facility's capabilities to develop the company's latest technologies such as super fine pitch products. With this move, Oki will be able to achieve development and manufacturing of driver LSI products at Oki Thailand to start up volume production in a short period of time.
Another LED Alliance formed in Taiwan
The Department of Industrial Technology and Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), along with seven LED lighting-related companies in Taiwan, have set up an alliance for LED light standard and quality R&D on June 7, according to the department.
The alliance, with members companies Alliance Optotek, China Electric Manufacturing, Epistar, I-Chiun Precision Industry, Lite-On Technology, Lustrous Technology and Wei Min Industrial (in alphabetical order) will aim at integrating technologies within the LED and lighting industries and develop the first complete LED lighting measurement standard in Taiwan to improve the competitiveness of Taiwan's LED lighting industry.
The alliance plans to develop LED T-bar indoor lamps with 100 Lm/W light efficiency and 20,000-hour expected lifetime, LED headlights and LED street lamps, along with quality verification technologies, the department added.
In February, Taiwan-based companies, including AMA Precision, Depo, Epistar, Everlight (in alphabetical order), formed an alliance for developing products for the LED auto lamp after-market (AM). Taiwan's Automotive Research & Testing Center (ARTC) will lead the alliance and plans to develop three new LED-based headlights for the automotive market over the next year and a half, according to ARTC.
This March, the government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), along with fourteen Taiwan LED makers and LED chipmakers, officially formed an LED alliance named the Taiwan Optoelectronic Semiconductor Industry Association (TOSIA) to further strengthen Taiwan's LED industry.
The LED makers and LED chipmakers joining TOSIA include Arima Optoelectronics, Bright LED Electronics, Epistar, Everlight Electronics, Formosa Epitaxy, Kingbright, Ledtech Electronics, Ligitek Electronics, Lingsen Precision Industries, Lite-On Technology, Opto Tech, Para Light Electronics, Tyntek and Unity Opto Technology (in alphabetical order).
In April, MOEA announced it will spend NT$2 billion (US$60.6 million) in the next four years to help develop the LED industry in Taiwan and expects the industry to reach a value of NT$540 billion by 2015.
Displaytech Ltd. Extends Distribution Contract with GLYN
After ten years of cooperation with Displaytech Ltd. GLYN announces that the existing distribution contract was officially expanded to Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, BeNeLux, Sweden, Czech Republic and Poland.
Displaytech is a Hong Kong based LCD manufacturer with production facilities in Dongguan, China, specialized in the design and production of Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD), LCD modules (LCM) and turnkey electronic products including plastic injection molding.
Starting with LCD glasses and standard modules Displaytech has now expanded its product portfolio to Chip-on-glass modules and multi color RGB backlights as standard products. Displaytech also offers customized solutions, either as modified standard modules, or as full custom design, tailored to the customers needs.
The ninth International Flat Panel Display Exposition (Display Taiwan 2007), the largest flat-panel display (FPD) show in Taiwan, was held at the Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC) from June 13 to 16. However, the number of the exhibitors has decreased again from 2006 and major overseas LCD makers are still not represented at the show.
Compared to more than 230 companies last year at the show (called FPD Taiwan 2006), this year there were only 184 exhibitors. In 2005, the show saw more than 250 exhibitors and attracted more than 23,000 visitors, according to data from the Photonics Industry and Technology Development Association (PIDA), one of the show hosts.
This year, exhibitors still included major panel makers such as AU Optronics (AUO), Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO), Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) and Wintek, and related components and materials providers including 3M and Corning. TPO Displays and HannStar Display did not attend the event.
Major LCD panel makers in Japan and South Korea did not participate in the Taiwan event, although companies such as Sharp, Matsushita Electric Industrial, Samsung, Samsung SDI and LG.Philips LCD always make sure to attend FPD International in Yokohama, Japan, which is held every October.
LG Opens Third LCD Factory Cluster in Poland
LG Corp. has opened its third LCD factory cluster in Poland, a one-stop manufacturing center that will allow LCD products and components to be produced and assembled at a single location. The South Korean conglomerate will spend about $1.08 billion on a 1.5 million-sum area in Kobierzyce near Wroclaw, Poland's educational and economic center with well established infrastructure and high quality labor resource.
LG, which has set up similar clusters in Paju, South Korea and Nanjing China, is optimizing its global LCD production and distribution system to better serve its European market, which as of March 2007 accounted for 26.6 million units annually and 37 percent of the global market.
The manufacturing complex will produce everything related to LCD manufacturing, from components to panels and TV sets. It will initially house four LG subsidiaries: LG Electronics, LG.Philips, LG Innotek and LG Chem.
LG Electronics' 4,268,448 sq. ft. (396,696 sqm) assembly plant projects to roll out 2.4 million units in 2007, exponentially increasing by 10 million annually until 2011. It will produce full HD LCD TVs in 32in, 37in, 42in, 47in, 52in and 55in screen sizes.
LG.Philips' LCD module plant, measuring 7,114,081 sq. ft., (661,160sqm) has a planned initial capacity of 3 million modules, annually expanding to reach 11 million units by 2011. The company has already started mass production in March 2007 and is producing mainly for 32in and larger TVs. It plans to provide customized service to its various customers, offering timely and stable supply of optimized products and services. Many of its clients have already setup facilities in the region.
LG Innotek's 497,983 sq. ft. (46,281sqm) plant will produce invertors and power modules, major components of LCD.
LG Chem's 995,967 sq. ft. (92,562sqm) factory will supply a wide range of products including petrochemical goods, rechargeable batteries and TFT-LCD display materials. The company's estimated annual production capacity of polarizer is 3 million units.
Other LCD production clusters
The conglomerate hopes to make the LCD cluster in Poland as Europe's digital display production hub by following the success of its South Korea and mainland China clusters. It expects to enhance its leadership in the industry through synergistic effects by boosting collaboration among the three clusters, working on cooperative projects in new technology development, purchasing system integration and talent sharing.
The Paju Display Cluster in South Korea, the largest of its kind in the world, covers 4.5 million-sqm and is home to LG.Philips' 18-million sq. ft. (1.7 million-sqm) seventh generation LCD panel plant. It will also be the future site of LG Electronics, LG Chem, LG Innotek and LG Micron and about 50 of LG's upstream and downstream partner companies.
The Nanjing Display Cluster in mainland China, which covers 21.5-million sq. ft. (2 million-sqm), includes LG.Philips' first overseas LCD module plant and facilities for LG Electronics and other components manufacturers. The Nanjing cluster also features plasma display module and TV set plants.
LG.Philips LCD Scraps Plan for Older Generation Display Plant
South Korea's LG.Philips LCD Co. said it was scrapping plans to build an older generation liquid crystal display facility and will instead invest in an advanced plant to meet demand for larger-sized flat screen televisions.
The company has yet to decide what generation the new plant will be but expects to complete a detailed plan this year. The new plant will aim for mass-production in 2009, LG.Philips said.
Previously, LG.Philips, the world's second-largest maker of liquid-crystal displays, said it would invest in the older generation LCD production line instead of an advanced 8th-generation facility optimized for larger-sized TVs.
A 5.5 generation facility is optimized to produce computer monitor screens of up to 22 inches and TV panels of up to 32 inches. An eighth-generation plant is mainly aimed at the 50-inch and above TV market.
South Korean rival Samsung Electronics Co., in partnership with Japan's Sony Corp., has built an eighth-generation LCD line south of Seoul, seeking an early entry into the 50-inch-plus panel market.
Touchscreen Solution Provider Synaptics to Expand R&D Center in Taiwan
Synaptics, a US-based touchscreen solution provider, will expand the workforce of its R&D center in Taiwan from 25 now to 50 this year.
The R&D center was established at the beginning of this year. The center will support customized touchscreen technologies for Taiwan-based makers to shorten their production lead time
HannStar to Expand 3G Capacity by 10-15 Percent
HannStar Display will purchase new equipment in July to expand capacity at its third-generation (3G) plant by 10-15%. About 70% of HannStar's 3G plant capacity is producing less-than-5-inch LCD panels currently while the rest of the capacity allocated to medium-size panels. As the demand for small-size LCD panels is turning strong and the segment can produce better profitability, the company decided to expand capacity at its 3G plant.
Foxconn to Build Kc3.1 Billion Plant in Kutna Hora
Taiwanese company Foxconn confirmed at a news conference in Kutna Hora, central Bohemia, that it will build a plant for $147m (Kc3.094bn) for the production of LCDs and computer components in the town. The plant will employ 5,000 people.
Foxconn already employs 5,000 people at its plant in Pardubice, eastern Bohemia.
Construction of the new plant is to be launched in August and be completed in June 2008, said Foxconn CEO Jim Chang. Homes could be built for the staff near the plant.
The new investment may help reduce unemployment in the Kutna Hora district which has the highest unemployment rate in central Bohemia.
Sharp Says New LCD Plant to be 10G
Katsuhiko Machida, Chairman and CEO, said a new plant that will begin operation before 2009 will produce tenth-generation (10G) panels.
The plant will help Sharp reduce costs and the maker will be more competitive against companies such as Sony and Samsung Electronics.
Panasonic to Produce LCDs in Kaliningrad
Matsushita Electronic has boosted production of Panasonic televisions in Russia, signing a deal with a Kaliningrad-based factory to output about 300,000 LCDs a year, which amounts to 10 percent of the Russian market. Samsung and LG have set up similar productions in the country while Sony is assembling LCDs at the same factory as Panasonic.
Panasonic said that the company had signed a deal with the Baltmikst factory in Kaliningrad Region for one year. The first Panasonic LCD TV is to be assembled at the factory this summer. Matsushita has become Baltmikst’s second foreign partner after the factory agreed to produce 300,000 Sony LCDs every year.
Panasonic has so far been importing LCDs to Russia, assembling some dozen thousand a year at another facility in the country’s westernmost Kaliningrad Region. Matsushita hopes to increase its LCD production in Russia fivefold or tenfold and occupy up to 10 percent of the market. As of the end of 2006, the LCD television market in Russia was worth $1.865 million, according to ITResearch.
UK Government Funds Development of OLED Lighting
Three UK organizations - OLED manufacturer Cambridge Display Technology (CDT), lighting manufacturer Thorn Lighting and the University of Durham – have been awarded funding to develop technology for white light-emitting polymers.
The group has received a grant of GBP1.6 million from the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Technology Programme. The total project cost is GBP3.3 million. The grant will part fund a three-year project to develop solution-processable organic materials and device architectures suitable for large area white lighting applications.
Plastic Logic Starts Building New Display Production Site in Dresden
The British company Plastic Logic Limited, a spin-out from Cambridge University, is currently building a new production site for a total of 96 million euro between the AMD microchip fab and Dresden airport. From 2008, a new generation of flexible displays, known as "electronic paper displays" (e-paper displays) will be produced in series at the factory; a global first.
TLG Immobilien GmbH has been commissioned by Plastic Logic to construct a building complex with a production hall and office space on 91,460 sq. ft. (8,500 square meters) at Dresden's Airportpark. The production hall is planned to be completed in August 2007. The office wing and the cleanroom are to be handed over in December 2007. Plastic Logic GmbH will be taking over the factory on lease. With 140 workers, more than one million displays are already to be produced in 2008. The light, flexible, extremely energy-saving displays will enable entirely new applications, such as electronic books and electronic newspapers. The thin, robust e-paper combines the advantages of the computer monitor and paper. Experts are already predicting a worldwide demand of 41.6 million units in 2010.
Plastic Logic Limited was formed in 2000 as a spin-out from Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory. In just ten years, intensive research produced 58 patents and patent applications. For the production of the first generation of flexible displays, the company raised more than 100 million U.S. dollars (€74.4 million) of equity finance from Oak Investment Partners, Tudor Investment Corporation and Amadeus Capital Partners, among others.
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