Dutch-Korean joint venture LG Philips LCD, which is vying with Samsung Electronics for the title of the world’s largest manufacturer of active matrix liquid crystal displays, has announced plans to invest 1.4 trillion won ($1.16bn) in expanding its production lines for next-generation TFT-LCDs (thin film transistor-liquid crystal displays).
Company president Koo Bon-joon said that the company will expand its annual production capacity to 4.5 million units next year from the current 3.8 million. He forecast sales will grow from this year’s $2bn to $2.4bn in 2000 and $3.3bn in 2001. LG Philips LCD will become one of the most successful joint ventures in history. LG offers technical expertise and facilities to produce high-quality flat screens while Philips provides a global network to sell them, Koo said.
He said his optimism about sales growth is based on demand for LCDs continuing to rise rapidly with the increasing use of the technology in digital appliances including computers, TVs and mobile phones. The company is shifting its main product focus from notebook PCs to large-scale monitors for desktop PCs and TVs, he said.
The company’s third plant, capable of producing fourth-generation 680 mm x 880 mm LCD mother glass, will start operating late next year. The new production line will help foster our leadership position in the high value-added LCD market, he said.
