Fujitsu will sink $300M into TFT LCD buildup

Electronic News, Feb 13, 1995 by Rob Guth

Tokyo--Hoping to piggyback the growing demand for color active-matrix notebook PCs, Fujitsu Ltd. will pour 30 billion yen ($300 million) into thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT LCD) production by year-end, officials at the Japanese company disclosed last week.

Fujitsu is matching similar moves by rival Japanese screen makers, which have been ramping up production to meet booming demand for the high-end notebook screens. Market leader Sharp Corp., for instance, intends to boost its production to 400,000 screens per month by fiscal 1996 from the current level of 180,000 per month.

The production increases later this year are expected to ameliorate current shortages of high-end notebooks, analysts said. In fact, production of color TFT LCD panels will soon begin to outstrip the demand for notebook computers, creating excess supply that will be soaked up by a range of new LCD applications, according to International Data Corp. Japan Ltd.

With its investment, Fujitsu plans to produce 90,000 11.3-inch screens per month by year-end, giving it the volume it needs to sell to leading notebook suppliers, a spokesman said. Currently, the company rinds in-house uses for most of the 15,000 screens or so screens it produces per month, according to the spokesman.

The investment plan includes replacing the company's existing manufacturing line, which cuts two screens from one panel of glass substrate, with more efficient machines that can produce four screens simultaneously. Most of Japan's LCD makers are employing similar technology in their expansion plans.

Japan's screen industry, which produces most of the world's color TFT LCD screens for notebook computers, came into the spotlight following last month's earthquake (EN, Jan. 23) and observers have speculated the quake may have damaged as much as one-third of the world's screen supply.

Although three key suppliers--Sharp, Display Technologies Inc. (DTI) and Hoshiden Corp.--are based in the area, Hoshiden appears to have suffered the most serious damage to its lines.

Hoshiden resumed production the week following the quake but is running at only about 30 percent capacity, according to Japanese press reports. DTI, an IBM--Toshiba joint venture, closed for repairs but is now up to pre-quake production levels and has overcome distribution challenges resulting from damaged roads (EN, Feb. 6).