Mass production at LG.Philips’ new TV module plant in Poland is up and running, the company said on Saturday.
The factory in Kobierzyce, near Wroclaw, manufactures LCD modules for use in flat-panel televisions. An LCD module is the most expensive part of a flat-panel TV set and combines the display panel with a backlight, frame and associated electronics. Manufacturers add a few additional circuit boards, power supply and case to produce a finished TV set.
The Polish plant will mainly make modules for TV sets with screen sizes of 32 inches and above. The modules will likely be used in sets produced by several major consumer electronics brands, all of which have factories nearby. LG Electronics has a factory close to the plant and Toshiba, which owns a 19.9% stake in the module factory, is in the process of building a factory in the area.
The companies are part of a rush to eastern Europe by Japanese and South Korean electronics companies, which are attracted by the low labor costs, tax breaks and access to the rest of the European Union. Additionally Sharp is building a module plant in Poland, Samsung is constructing a TV plant in Hungary, Japan’s IPS Alpha Technology plans a module plant in Hungary and LG Electronics has also opened a TV factory in Russia.
Mass production at the Polish plant has begun with 3 million modules per year and LG.Philips LCD is targeting expanding this to 11 million modules per year by 2011.
LG.Philips already operates an LCD module plant in Nanjing, China, and last year said it would build a second plant in Guangzhou.
