Taiwan's LCD makers step up China production
By Faith Hung
EBN
(05/28/02 14:04 p.m. EST)
siliconstrategies.com
HSINCHU, Taiwan -- Two of Taiwan's biggest flat panel makers are stepping up their efforts in China to take advantage of the lower costs and increasing demand on the mainland.
AU Optronics Inc. said that it's expecting monthly capacity at a new facility in the southeastern city of Suzhou to rise to 500,000 to 600,000 TFT-LCD modules by the end of this year from a trial production currently.
Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. is planning to move to phase two after beginning a ramp-up production in its plant near Shanghai. Capacity is estimated to grow to 200,000 modules per month at the yearend, compared with about 30,000 now, according to H. K. Chung, a vice president of Taoyuan-based Chunghwa.
The moves by AU and Chunghwa show that OEMs are increasingly shifting their production to China. ”Dell Computer, Compaq Computer, Benq and Compal Electronics are asking us to raise production in the Chinese mainland,” said an official at AU, Hsinchu, Taiwan, who asked not to be named. “China is so big that it pretty much has drawn most of our customers and suppliers there. We get to save a lot of money in logistics because we can do sampling and shipment right in the same country.” |
