May 2 2006
Corning Incorporated has announced that its board of directors recently approved a capital expenditure plan of $174 million to further expand its Generation (Gen) 8 size liquid crystal display (LCD) glass substrates manufacturing capacity at its facility in Shizuoka, Japan. The company had previously announced that it will ship samples of its Gen 8 size LCD glass (2160 mm x 2400 mm) from this facility in the second quarter. Corning expects to begin Gen 8 commercial shipments in the third quarter, with this new capacity continuing to come on line through late 2007.
In addition, Corning announced that it recently signed a supply agreement making Corning the majority glass substrate supplier for Sharp Corporation's Gen 8 fab in Mie Prefecture, which is currently under construction and expected to open later this year. Sharp's new Gen 8 factory will be focused on LCD TVs that are 40 inches and larger. Corning's new investment will add Gen 8 glass capacity to meet Sharp's future supply requirements.
The Gen 8 substrates manufactured at the facility will be Corning's new EAGLE XG glass, which the company launched commercially in March of this year. 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.
"Corning continues to be the leading supplier of large-size glass substrates for the LCD industry," said James Clappin, president of Corning Display Technologies. "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," he said. "We are closely monitoring consumer demand for LCD television, and we will pace our manufacturing expansions accordingly."
"Sharp is a very important customer for us here in Japan, and we are pleased to continue our strong, long-term relationship with them. We are excited to announce both the expansion of our Gen 8 capacity at Shizuoka and the supply agreement. These will enable Corning to continue to meet Sharp's demand for a reliable supply of pristine substrates," said Akihisa Mitsuhashi, president, Corning Japan K. K.
Corning previously said that it continues to believe that the global LCD glass market will grow between 40 percent and 50 percent in volume this year and that Corning's volume will grow at a rate greater than the overall market. The company also said that 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 fully expanded its Tainan, Taiwan facility. The company also constructed a second facility in Taichung, Taiwan and held the grand opening of that facility in January of this year. 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-gen size capacity at its facility in Cheonan, Korea. Samsung Corning Precision is Corning's 50-percent owned equity venture in Korea.
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