Sharp Corporation will begin construction of Plant No. 2 at its Kameyama facility which will use eighth-generation glass substrates, the world’s largest*1. This size is optimal for production of LCD panels intended for large-screen LCD TVs of 40 inches and larger. Work will commence on July 1 with construction of buildings, followed by installation of production equipment. The target date for start of production operations is October 2006. By putting this Kameyama Plant No. 2 into operation, Sharp will work toward opening up new markets for large-screen LCD TVs and build a production system that will provide a consistent supply of large-format LCD panels.
LCD TV screens are becoming larger and are making improvements in display quality. In addition, digital broadcasts are disseminating around the world, and an increasing percentage of programming is available in high-definition format. Accordingly, the demand for large-screen LCD TVs is expected to grow dramatically, with their ability to display digital high-definition broadcasts and other content with high image quality and superb audio quality.
To cope with this projected increase in demand for large-screen LCD TVs 40 inches and larger, Sharp’s Kameyama Plant No. 2 will use eighth-generation glass substrates and will have a building area roughly 2.4 times larger than Plant No. 1 (also an LCD production facility). Also, providing structural protection for the production system against the large-scale earthquakes of recent years is an urgent task, and Plant No. 2 will feature a new “active seismic control system*2” to further strengthen the earthquake-resistant construction design. This system applies a seismic damper (shaking control) system to the frame of the building, which absorbs vibration and shaking resulting from earthquakes, making it possible to minimize the impact of a large-scale earthquake on production operations.
Sharp is also aiming to make Kameyama Plant No. 2 a state-of-the-art environmentally conscious production facility based on further refinements in a wide range of environmental technologies originally deployed in Plant No. 1.
For Plant No. 2, Sharp will substantially reduce costs by working with suppliers in the development of new parts and materials from the initial design stage. Also, Plant No. 2 will thoroughly implement “one-of-a-kind production innovations” that improve the production process. As a result, Sharp will achieve approximately double the investment productivity of Plant No. 1 (in 45-inch panel equivalents) while building a production system that can provide a stable supply of large-format LCD panels to cope with increases in demand for large-screen LCD TVs 40 inches and larger.
Overview of Kameyama Plant No. 2
- Location: 464 Kougawa, Shiraki-cho, Kameyama City, Mie Prefecture, Japan (inside Sharp’s Kameyama Plant site)
- Start of construction: July 2005
- Start of operations: October 2006
- Building area: Approx. 82,100 m2
- Total floor area: Approx. 273,600 m2
- Construction: Steel-frame construction; 5 stories (frontage: approx. 240 m, depth: approx. 350 m)
- Total investment: Approx. 150 billion yen (including buildings and production equipment)
- Substrate size: 2,160 x 2,400 mm (8th generation) – (eight 40-inch-class panels or six 50-inch-class panels per substrate)
- Substrate input: 15,000 panels per month (30,000 panels per month with start-up of second production line in 2007)
*1 As of June 30, 2005; for the glass substrate size to be used at the LCD plant for which construction is starting.
*2 “Earthquake-resistant construction” is designed to impart earthquake resistance to columns and walls. “Active seismic control systems” absorb vibration and shocks from earthquakes using not only the structure of the building itself, but also by means of damping structures.
