OSAKA (Kyodo) Panasonic Corp. held a ceremony Tuesday in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, to mark the completion of a new plasma display panel plant.
Capable of producing the world's largest PDPs at 330 by 190 cm, the third Amagasaki plant is designed to shore up Panasonic's plasma display business, which is lagging behind its liquid crystal display panel output.
The plant began trial production in November, half a year behind schedule due to slack demand.
The factory will begin commercial production in January with an initial monthly rate of 120,000 42-inch panels.
Panasonic's monthly production of PDPs at the three plants in Amagasaki will expand to 1.06 million units.
The company has set a goal of raising its combined production capacity of PDPs and liquid crystal display panels to 30 million units in fiscal 2012, double the amount estimated for fiscal 2009.
Its liquid crystal display panel factory in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, is scheduled to begin operation in July.
Related investment is projected to amount to ¥445 billion through fiscal 2012 — ¥210 billion for the third Amagasaki plant and the remainder for the Himeji plant.
