Teco Group to produce LCD TVs in Slovakia

Taipei, Jan. 17, 2005 (CENS)--Teco Group, one of Taiwan's largest home-appliance manufacturers, has decided to set up a joint-venture production facility in Slovakia as a springboard to tap the European Union market.

The group will cooperate with a Slovakia state-run television system provider to form the joint venture. The venture is expected to begin shipments in February, with monthly shipment to reach over 1,000 LCD (liquid crystal display) TVs in March and April. The shipments will increase month after month after April.

Huang Yu-jen, deputy CEO of Teco Group's information and electronics subgroup, said the proposed production facility in Slovakia will concentrate on LCD TVs. The group has set a goal to double shipments of LCD TVs to reach between 150,000 and 200,000 units this year from last year's 70,000 units.

Also the president of Teco Image Systems Co., a subsidiary of the Teco Group, Huang is responsible for the marketing of the group's LCD TVs.

Huang noted setting up a plant in European Union member countries can save remarkable customs tariff as the EU now imposes 14% import duty on TVs. In addition, the proposed European plant will help the group shorten delivery time and access end-user market.

He anticipated the European market to absorb 35% to 40% of his group's total output of LCD TVs this year. In the early stage, the European plant will mainly roll out 20-, 23-, 26-, 30-, and 32-inch LCD TVs. In the second half of this year, the plant will add 37- or 40-inch models to its product lines.

Huang predicted the global demand will exceed 16 million LCD TVs this year and the 32-inch model will gradually replace the 30-inch model beginning from the second quarter of this year.

Teco is Taiwan's No.1 exporter of LCD TVs to Japan. At present the group exports 1,000 LCD TVs to Japan per month.