Largan Raises Investment for New Factory in Central Taiwan

Largan Precision Co., Ltd., a major supplier of lenses for smartphones in Taiwan, has decided to raise investment in a new factory in Taiwan to NT$20.5 billion (US$683.3 million), up from the NT$10 billion (US$333.3 million) originally planned, to boost market share in  high-definition lenses, with the factory to be in the Taichung City Precision Machinery Innovation Technology Park and construction to start in 2015 and production in 2017.

People knowledgeable about the investment plan say Largan originally mapped out a 5-year implementation, but has decided to shorten the span to  quickly expand market share in high-definition lenses.

The Taichung City Government has approved the investment and will allocate the needed 4.55 hectares of land to Largan, who paid NT$3.1 billion (US$103 million), in mid- October.

The added capacity will help ease the company's strained production of high-definition lenses.

Industry executives say Largan has been developing contact lenses and lenses for wearable glasses, robots, vehicles, motion-detection camcorders, and medicine capsules to move beyond smartphone lens.

The factory, the company's sixth, is set to generate revenue up to NT$20 billion (US$666.6 million) a year and create at least 2,200 jobs initially.

The factory is located right beside the company's headquarters in Taichung, marking the company's plan to build an integrated plant for R&D and manufacturing.

The company ships 20% of global  smartphone lenses to lead the sector, being the main lens supplier for iPhones. Partly thanks to the brisk demand for iPhone 6, Largan's sales have set all-time high for a fifth month and are expected to set another high this September with projected revenue exceeding NT$4 billion (US$133.3 million). (KL)