UPDATE: Corning To Invest $800 Million In China LCD Glass Plant
22 Luglio 2010 - 11:04AM
Dow Jones News
Corning Inc. (GLW), the world's biggest supplier of glass used
in flat-screen televisions, said it will invest about US$800
million to build an advanced liquid-crystal-display glass
manufacturing facility in Beijing in response to rapidly increasing
market demand for flat-screen televisions and computers.
The Corning, New York-based company said in a statement
Wednesday the facility will have up to 8.5-generation glass-melting
and finishing capabilities. Such a plant can churn out glass sheets
used to make television panels bigger than 50 inches.
Corning said it will construct the new facility in Beijing's
Digital TV Industry Park within the Economic Technological
Development Area. The company plans to break ground on the facility
in September, with production slated to begin in the first half of
2012.
Corning, which also makes fiber-optic equipment, said continued
higher-than-expected retail demand for LCD televisions, laptops and
other computers has resulted in an improved outlook for the
products for the rest of the year, adding its annual LCD glass
demand this year could be at the higher end of its forecast of 2.9
billion to 3.1 billion square feet.
As a result, Corning boosted its view for capital expenditure
for the year to about US$1.2 billion from US$1 billion. As part of
the expenditure, the company plans to boost capacity at its
facility in Taichung, Taiwan.
"We continue to forecast strong growth for LCD glass for the
next several years. This growth will be driven primarily by
continued market penetration of LCD televisions, with significant
gains in Asia and South America, and an accelerated technology
replacement cycle in more mature global markets. Therefore, we are
making the appropriate capacity investments to take advantage of
this projected demand," said James Clappin, president of Corning
Display Technologies, Asia, in a statement.
"China is quickly becoming a leader in LCD panel development,
and Corning will be well positioned to grow with the China market
through these capacity expansions," said Eric Musser, chief
executive of Corning Greater China.
The new plant will allow Corning to be closer to its major
customers including liquid crystal display makers Sharp Corp.
(6502.TO) and LG Display Co. (LPL) that are moving to set up
panel-manufacturing facilities on the mainland to tap strong demand
for flat-panel televisions. Last year, both LG Display and Sharp
announced that they will set up so-called eighth generation LCD
manufacturing plants in China to make large-size panels used in
televisions.
Corning has typically set up glass facilities next to its major
customers' plants to make it easier for bigger panels to be
transported. The move becomes more imperative as glass sizes
increase. Last year, Corning opened a plant in Sakai, western
Japan, timing its opening with Sharp's opening of its 10th
generation facility, which uses glass sheets that can cut 70-inch
panels for televisions.
The news comes after Clappin told Dow Jones Newswires in an
interview in October that Corning was exploring the possibility of
setting up an advanced glass manufacturing facility in China and
has held preliminary talks with government officials and customers
there.
-By Yun-Hee Kim and Lauren Pollock, Dow Jones Newswires;
852-2832-2330; yun-hee.kim@dowjones.com
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