Samsung's Gen 7 plant goes to production

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd said that it has begun mass production at Line 7-2, its second 7th generation flat-panel display line.

Mass production began only two months after the company successfully concluded pilot production of a 40-inch panel last November. Samsung will produce a combined 165,000 substrates monthly, or 1.32 million 40-in. panels per month, at its 7G lines when Line 7-2 reaches full capacity.

Currently, Samsung is operating another 7G line (Line 7-1) through its joint venture with Sony, called S-LCD. Production commenced at Line 7-1 in April 2004, with the full capacity of 60,000 substrates per month being reached in October 2005. In November 2005, the company announced that it will increase capacity at Line 7-1 by another 15,000 substrates, by July 2006.

Samsung claims it has become the first in the industry to pass the $10 billion mark in annual sales of LCDs in 2005.

EE Times