Mar 1 2006
Sharp Corporation, in response to growing demand for large-screen LCD TVs worldwide, will expand and enhance its system to supply large-format LCD panels by investing an additional 15 billion yen in its LCD panel production line at Kameyama Plant No. 1.
In the midst of the extremely rapid shift of the broadcast infrastructure from analog to digital signal format, Sharp foresees dramatic growth in worldwide demand for LCD TVs—from 20 million units in fiscal 2005 to 36 million units in fiscal 2006, an 80% increase. In addition, according to a leading display market research and consulting firm*, in 2006, demand for LCD and plasma TVs will equal that of high-definition models having screens 37 inches and larger, and by 2008, LCD TVs are projected overtake plasma TVs among all models 37-inch and larger. In this light, Sharp is forecasting that demand for high-definition LCD TVs with large screens and high resolution will increase markedly.
To cope with this burgeoning demand, Sharp is now investing an additional 15 billion yen in the large-format LCD panel production line at its Kameyama Plant No. 1. By augmenting production equipment and improving production efficiency, glass substrate (“motherglass”) input capacity will rise from the current 51,000 glass substrates per month to 60,000 per month, a 20% increase.