South Korean companies have successfully developed key manufacturing machines that can improve localization of liquid crystal display (LCD) production and boost exports, the government said Tuesday.
The machines that will be used in so-called front-end processing may allow South Korea to build up to 90 percent of all machines needed in LCD manufacturing, not including ones for the high-tech exposure stage.
LCD manufacturing is divided into front and back-end stages, with the former designed make the crystal display itself. The back-end portion is for connecting the panel to wires and other circuitry.
ADP Engineering Co., Jusung Engineering Co., K.C. Tech Co., and Advanced Vacuum and Clean Equipment Optimizer (AVACO) said they have respectively developed LCD dry etchers, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition systems (PECVD), LCD tracks and sputtering systems.
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, which has invested 33.5 billion won (US$35.8 million) in the research and development projects since 2004, said the machines can replace 200 billion won worth of imports per year after full-scale production begins. South Korea has generally been successful in certain types of machine production, but relied on imports in other areas.
The local market for LCD-related equipment stands at 4 trillion won a year, with most specialized equipment coming from the United States and Japan. Some of the equipment can cost up to 10 billion won. The Commerce Ministry said it will continue to invest money into crystal display R&D which is a promising growth engine of the future. The global market for LCD manufacturing machines stands at $8.38 billion, and the figure is expected to grow to $10.85 billion in 2007.
Policymakers said that the new machines could be exported to countries like China and Indonesia.
Seoul, Nov. 21 (Yonhap News)
S. Korean firms make LCD-manufacturing machines, boost exports |
