Joint Samsung-Sony line moves to claim 50-inch-plus market
Competition is heating up in the large-sized liquid crystal display (LCD) television market, as Japan’s Sharp recently began operations on its eighth-generation production line, which now makes 50-inch flat LCD display TVs, at the same time that Samsung Electronics and Sony have started building their joint eighth-generation plant. In addition, Taiwan’s Chi Mei Optoelectronics plans to begin mass production of 52-inch LCD TVs before March next year. S-LCD, the joint venture between Samsung and Sony, recently started building an eighth-generation production line at their plant in Tangjeong, South Chungcheong Province. The eighth-generation line, which will begin mass production in autumn next year, will have a monthly production capacity of 50,000 LCD panels. S-LCD’s construction of their eighth-generation production line is expected to allow the joint venture to preempt the large-sized LCD television market, or TVs with panels sized over 50 inches diagonally. Jang Won-ki, S-LCD’s chief executive officer and Samsung’s vice president, said, "We will keep our strong position in the LCD television market by investing in the eighth-generation line." The glass sheet used in S-LCD’s eighth-generation line is 2,200 mm long and 2,500 mm wide. S-LCD can produce six LCD panels from this glass sheet; the eighth-generation line’s glass sheet used in Japan’s Sharp models is 2,160 mm long and 2,460 mm wide, smaller than S-LCD’s size.Currently, 40-inch panels from LCD manufacturers’ seventh-generation lines are leading the large-sized flat-screen market. Although plasma display panel (PDP) makers such as Matsushita and Samsung SDI have been leading the over 50-inch screen market, they are expected to face fierce competition from the new LCD-based entrants into that market. Market researchers expect the global LCD television market to pass the 100-million-unit mark in 2009, compared with this year’s estimated 50 million units sold. In addition, the amount of LCD televisions with screens over 40 inches is expected to rise to 30 percent of all models sold, from the current 10 percent.
