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Competition is getting fiercer between LG-Philips LCD and Samsung Electronics in the large-size liquid crystal display (LCD) market, with both advancing their schedule to go into mass production.
LG-Philips LCD said Tuesday it started ordering production equipment for its second seventh-generation production line, which is being built in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, which will now go into operation from the third quarter next year. The company plans to secure manufacturing capacity of 90,000 LCDs a month at the Paju plant by the first quarter of 2007.
Samsung Electronics said on Oct. 31 it succeeded in producing a 40-inch LCD on a trial basis on its own second seventh-generation LCD production line, which is being built in Tangjeong, South Chungcheong Province. The company added it could advance operation of the production line to January from April next year.
Market watchers say LG-Philips and Samsung advanced their schedule for the new factories in a bid to seize control of the large-LCD market segment. LG-Philips focuses on manufacturing 42-inch and 47-inch LCDs, Samsung on 40-inch and 46-inch LCDs. If the digital TV industry chooses panels produced by a specific company, it will cause enormous losses to the other after both spent over W3 trillion (about US$ 3 billion) on their new production line.
An executive with a digital TV maker said LCD makersĄŻ fate will depend on how fast they can capture a bigger share in the segment.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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