LG Builds Biggest PDP Production Line in the World

LG Electronics, in order to target the rapidly growing plasma display panel (PDP) market, will build the third PDP production line in Gumi City, North Gyeongsang Province by investing 330 billion won, said LG electronics yesterday. The production line is aimed to open in September, 2004. The new production line will be able to produce 75,000 PDPs a month, hence it will be a production line to produce the most PDPs in the world as a single PDP production line.

By adding another production line, the company is aiming to be the number one PDP manufacturer with the global market share of 25 % by the year 2005. The third line will adopt a new technique which can cut multiple PDP glasses from a single sheet of glass.

In addition, LG electronics is expecting to be the world No. one PDP producer as the monthly production number of PDPs will increase to 135,000 once the third line starts to produce PDPs. The company is operating the first line which produces 30,000 PDPs a month and it is about to operate the second line of another 30,000 a month PDP production capacity in the latter half of this year.

Tae-Han Kim freewill@donga.com