Industry news

AU Optronics (AUO) on November 16 kicked off volume production at a 6G LTPS (low-temperature poly-Si) TFT-LCD factory in Kunshan, eastern China, according to the company.

With investment of NT$50 billion (US$1.58 billion), the factory has initial monthly production capacity of 25,000 glass substrates and the capacity has already been booked up, company chairman and CEO Paul Peng said. The factory mainly produces high-end panels for use in smartphones and notebooks, with smartphone-use panels to be specifically shipped to first-tier China-based vendors, Peng noted.

Utilization of the factory's production capacity is expected to reach 100% in the third quarter of 2017, and then the factory can generate an annual production value of NT$25-30 billion, with AUO's global market share for LTPS panels to rise from 3% at present to 8%.

The factory features advanced panel manufacturing process which entails nine photo masks in comparison with 11-12 photo masks used at other LTPS lines, Peng indicated. The plant is characterized by integrated manufacturing process through combining array process, in-cell touch panel process, glass substrate thinning, direct bonding of display and touch panels and module process, Peng noted.

The factory has about 1,400 employees, of whom over 250 are engineers from AUO's plants in Taiwan.

Although the fourth quarter and the following quarter form the traditional off-season period for the panel industry, AUO has obtained many orders to book up its total production capacity in the period, Peng said. Peng is optimistic about outlook of the panel market in 2017, as he expects growth in the global panel production capacity to be smaller than growth in global demand.