Corning Singapore Holdings is to build a $US600 million site for the manufacture of TFT-LCD glass substrates in China.
The Corning Incorporated subsidiary has signed a deal with Samsung Display and the provincial government of Wuxi New District, to build the site in Jiangsu Province, China.
The venture will be an extension of a partnership between Samsung and Corning lasting several years, and will use Corning’s LCD glass substrate technology and Samsung Display’s LCD display expertise.
The new group will supply LCD glass substrates to Samsung Suzhou in China.
The company will invest in phases over the next few years as stages of the facility are constructed and brought online.
The manufacturing plant will have Gen 8 (2200 x 2500mm) glass-melting and finishing capability.
Construction of the facility will start by the end of 2012, with production expected to begin at the end of 2013, in time to meet demand for the start-up of Samsung Suzhou LCD.
The new site will mean that Samsung and Corning’s joint venture company Samsung Corning Precision Materials, based in South Korea, will be idling some of its LCD glass capacity.
Market research firm DisplaySearch said more than 44 million LCD TVs were shipped to retailers in China last year, and that the market should increase to over 56 million units in 2014.
