Dec 22 2005
Corning Incorporated announced today that it has received the necessary government certificates to begin shipping active matrix liquid crystal display (LCD) glass substrates from its Taichung manufacturing facility. The company has been collaborating with customers for several months in preparation for supplying substrates from the new Taichung plant. This announcement is in line with previous announcements that the company would be prepared to ship substrates to customers from this facility during 2005.
“Notebook computers, desktop monitors, mobile applications, and the rapid adoption of LCD TVs are fueling sustained worldwide LCD industry growth,” said James P. Clappin, president, Corning Display Technologies. Clappin added, “The Taichung facility will allow us to maintain pace and support our customers’ demand for large-size LCD glass substrates.”
Corning broke ground on the Taichung facility in July 2004 and expects to hold its official grand opening ceremony in January 2006. Most recently, Corning’s board of directors approved an additional capital expenditure plan of US$425 million for the third-phase expansion of the Taichung facility, bringing the total capital expenditure for the new plant to about US$1.5 billion. The majority of the phase three expenditure will be incurred during 2006 and 2007. The Taichung facility will ultimately manufacture Generation 5.5, Generation 6, Generation 7.5 and larger glass substrates, suited to meet the continued strong demand for desktop monitors and the emerging growth in LCD televisions.
“A majority of industry growth is expected to be centered in Taiwan, so it’s natural for us to expand our capacity in the region,” said Eugene A. Verdon, Jr., president, Corning Display Technologies Taiwan. “We’re excited to ship glass from our Taichung facility after formally breaking ground only seventeen months ago. We remain focused on our priority of fulfilling the obligations of our customer agreements and serving our customers’ needs in Taiwan by providing a reliable supply of high-quality glass substrates.”