Wellypower Claims to be World's No. 3 CCFL Supplier

Taipei, Jan. 2, 2006 (CENS)--Wellypower Optronics Co., Ltd., Taiwan's No. 1 cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) maker, recently claimed that after its aggressive capacity expansion, the company has become the world's third-largest supplier of the lamps, with a monthly production capacity of about 10 million units.

Wellypower's chairman H. B. Chen, also president, chief operating officer (COO) and spokesman for AU Optronics Corp. (AUO), Taiwan's No. 1 thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panel maker, made the statement at a recent shareholders' meeting. Chen pointed out that Wellypower plans to pour an additional NT$1 billion (US$30.03 million at US$1: NT$33.3) into capacity expansion in Taiwan and mainland China in 2006, aiming to achieve a total monthly capacity of around 18 million CCFLs by the end of 2006.

Chen also announced that Wellypower would step into production of light-emitting diode (LED) backlights when the time is right.

At the shareholders' meeting, Chen told the crowd that the supply shortage of CCFLs used in backlight modules for TFT-LCD panels larger than 30 inches is expected to grow to about 10% in 2006. To assure an ample supply of the parts, Chen said, most panel makers have signed long-term (at least one-year) supply agreements with CCFL suppliers, who are expected to realize savings on raw materials with the long-term agreements.

In addition to its existing customers in mainland China, according to Chen, Wellypower's CCFL plant in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province aims to supply the products to all the three mainland China-based panel makers in the future.

According to data provided by Wellypower, the number of the company's CCFL production lines had been expanded to 21 by the end of 2005, and total monthly capacity has already topped around 8.5 million units, making Wellypower the No. 3 CCFL supplier in the world, trailing Harrison Toshiba Lighting Co. and Sanken Electric Co., Ltd.

Industry sources said that most Japanese CCFL makers held a conservative attitude toward capacity expansion in the second half of 2005 due to concerns that flat light sources were expected to replace CCFLs in backlight applications. However, the Japanese makers have become aggressive again as the progress in developing flat lighting sources has not been as smooth as originally expected, and because CCFLs still have strong cost competitiveness.

Currently, Chen added, only Samsung is actively working on the development of flat lighting sources, and the LED is better poised to replace CCFLs as the mainstream backlight source than EEL (edge-emitting laser).

AUO is currently the largest customer of Wellypower's CCFL products for LCD TV panels, but accounts for less than 40% of Wellypower's sales. Wellypower aims to supply CCFLs to most panel makers in Taiwan and South Korea, the company said. Wellypower was the first company in Taiwan to develop CCFLs for 40-inch LCD TV panels.

Global CCFL Supplier Rank (Q3, 2005)
Company	Market Share
Harrison Toshiba	21%
Matsushita	14%
Sanken	12%
NEC	9%
Wellypower	9%
Kumho	9%
Stanley	6%
Heesung	6%
Wooree ETI	6%
Others	8%

Source: DisplaySearch