The Chinese market for flat-panel televisions is booming and to capitalise on what is undoubted opportunity Panasonic has announced it will move part of plasma display panel production facilities at its PDP plant in Amagasaki City, near Osaka, to Panasonic Plasma Display (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (PPDS) in Shanghai, China.
The company said it would then be able to “better respond to robust demand for flat-panel TVs in China”.
PPDS was established in January 2001 as a joint venture between Panasonic (then called Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.) and Shanghai City.
It is producing the equivalent of 25,000 42-inch plasma display panels per month at its plant in Pudong New Area.
“To accommodate the additional production facility and maximize production efficiencies, PPDS plans to relocate to the nearby Pudong Jinqiao Development Zone,” the company said. “The new production facility plans to commence production with a monthly capacity equivalent to approximately 120,000 42-inch panels in April 2012. Panasonic intends to maximize production efficiency by further utilizing the integrated production system from plasma display panels to assembling TV sets.”
The flat-panel TV market is expanding rapidly and China’s flat-panel TV market is likely to surpass 50 million units by 2012.
The demand for plasma TVs with large-screen and high picture quality is expected to grow in China driven by digital TV broadcasting and increased consumer interest in Full HD 3D plasma TVs.
“The build-up of PPDS will give Panasonic a stronger structure to meet the growing demand in China as well as enable Panasonic to improve the group-wide cost competitiveness, thereby Panasonic continues to push ahead with its growth strategy in the global flat-panel TV market,” the company said.
SOURCE: Panasonic
Edited by Ellie Duncan