MARCH 18--LG. Philips LCD Co. Ltd. (Seoul, South Korea; www.lgphilips-lcd.com), a provider of liquid-crystal-display (LCD) technology, reports that its new "P5" facility, a thin-film-transistor (TFT) LCD fabrication plant, began volume production this month. Located in Gumi, South Korea, the new "P5" will produce TFT-LCDs for 17-in. and larger desktop monitors and larger LCD TVs such as the 26-in.-wide model. Currently in the first phase of ramp-up (up to 30K sheets per month), "P5" is expected to reach full production capacity in the second half of 2003, achieving a total of 60K sheets per month by year end.
DisplaySearch (Austin, TX) president Ross Young noted, "From 2001 to 2006, the flat-panel-display market is expected to grow at a 22.7% compound annual growth rate, to $61.9 billion. Key drivers for this growth include significant increases in TFT-LCD capacity, targeting large-area applications, as well as lower TFT-LCD prices, which have boosted penetration into the PC market, and recently, the flat TV market. LG. Philips LCD has led the 15-in. market for three years straight, and we expect the company to be the leader in overall large-area TFT-LCD unit shipments in Q1 '03 and Q2' 03."
