Corning Inc. announced yesterday that its board of directors has approved a capital expenditure plan of $174 million to further expand its generation 8 LCD glass substrates manufacturing capacity at its facility in Shizuoka, Japan. The company had previously announced it will ship samples of its generation 8 LCD glass (2160 x 2400 mm) from this facility in the second quarter. Corning expects to begin commercial shipments in the third quarter, with the new capacity continuing to be produced through late 2007.
In addition, Corning announced that it recently signed a supply agreement to be the majority glass substrate supplier for Sharp Corp.'s generation 8 fab in Mie Prefecture (on Honshu island, Japan) that is under construction and expected to open later this year. Sharp's new factory will be focused on LCD TVs that are 40 inches and larger. Corning said its new investment will add generation 8 glass capacity to meet Sharp's future supply requirements.
The substrates manufactured at the facility will be Corning's new Eagle XG glass, which the company launched in March. Corning said Eagle XG is the first LCD substrate free of all heavy metals including arsenic, antimony and barium; it is also free of halides, such as chlorine, fluorine and bromine, making it "the most environmentally-friendly LCD glass on the market."
James Clappin, president of Corning Display Technologies, said, "Corning continues to be the leading supplier of large-size glass substrates for the LCD industry. We are increasing capacity to meet the anticipated future supply requirements for high-quality large-size glass substrates to support the growing LCD TV market. We believe that LCD TV will continue to become more competitive in the 40-inch and larger-size range, especially with its exceptional HDTV performance."
Clappin said Corning is closely monitoring consumer demand for LCD television and will pace its manufacturing expansions accordingly.
Corning said it continues to believe that the global LCD glass market will grow between 40 and 50 percent in volume this year and that its volume will grow at a rate greater than the overall market. The company also said LCD TV penetration should reach 19 percent of the total television market in 2006. LCD TVs accounted for 11 percent of the global television market last year.
In response to the growing demand for large-generation LCD glass substrates, Corning has expanded its Tainan, Taiwan, facility. The company also constructed a second facility in Taichung, Taiwan, that opened in January. In addition to these expansions and Corning's recent decision to establish a facility in Beijing, China, Samsung Corning Precision Glass Co. Ltd., has also expanded large-generation capacity at its facility in Cheonan, Korea. Samsung Corning Precision is Corning's 50-percent owned equity venture in Korea.
For more information, visit: www.corning.com