Quanta wins Panasonic's order for 400,000 14-inch LCD TVs

Jul 01, 2004 Ι Industry In-Focus Ι Electronics and Computers Ι By Quincy, CENS
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Taipei, July 1, 2004 (CENS)--Taiwan's Quanta Computer Inc. recently won a big-ticket order for 400,000 14-inch liquid crystal display (LCD) TV sets from Panasonic of Japan.

Quanta said that it would start big-volume delivery in the second quarter next year and the TVs will adopt thin film transistor (TFT)-LCD panels produced by the company's subsidiary Quanta Display Inc.

Industry sources attributed Quanta's new LCD TV business to the company's long-term contract supply ties with Panasonic. Quanta refused to comment on the new business but said that 14-inch TV models have lower costs than 15-inch counterparts and can be hanged on the wall to save space.

According to Quanta, one of the largest contract notebook PC makers in the world, many of its big international information technology (IT) customers also plan to push own-brand LCD TV products and place such orders with Quanta.

Quanta said, however, that due to the supply shortage of TFT-LCD panels in the international market, 50% to 55% of Quanta Display's panel capacity would be for notebook PC applications (including 35% for 14-inch screens and 15% for 15-inch ones); 40% for 15- and 17-inch LCD monitors; and only 5% to 10% for LCD TVs.

Quanta Display's new fifth-generation panel plant will utilize one-third of its capacity to produce about one million 23- and 26-inch LCD TV panels this year, and will have no capacity for the production of the 32-inch panel model.

Quanta Display currently runs two TFT-LCD panel plants, including one 3.5th-generation plant for producing mainly 14-inch panels and another fifth-generation one for the manufacture of 15- and 17-inch PC-use panels and 23-, 26-inch TV panels), both having investment and technical support from Sharp of Japan. The fifth-generation plant currently has a monthly capacity of 50,000 substrates or about 730,000 large-sized panels, and is expected to achieve the full-capacity production of 60,000 substrates in early July.

Barry Lam, chairman of Quanta Computer and Quanta Display, said at a recent company shareholders' meeting that Quanta Display has started sorting a land for the company's third sixth-generation panel plant in Taiwan. Quanta Display started constructing its first sixth-generation panel facility in March at a total cost of NT$100 billion (US$2.97 billion). The new facility is scheduled to begin mass production of 32- and 37-inch TV panels in the third quarter next year, making it the third sixth-generation panel facility on the island, trailing those of AU Optronics Corp. (AUO) and Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Ltd.
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