LG Display starts OLED TV panel production at new China factory

After multiple delays, LG Display has started production at its second factory for OLED TV panels. The China factory is currently producing 48-inch panels, according to a report in Business Korea.

Made in China
To date, all OLED TV makers, including LG, Sony, and Panasonic, have sourced panels from LG Display's factory in Paju, South Korea. The new factory in Guangzhou, China, is the world's only second factory for OLED TV panels.

After multiple delays, production at the 8.5-generation factory has finally started, with mass-production scheduled for the second half of the year. Initially, the factory will produce 48-inch panels for the first 48-inch OLED TVs. The original plan was to start production in late 2019.

- "LG Display's plant in Guangzhou, China is delivering the panels for 48-inch OLED TVs to LG Electronics," an LG Electronics official told Business Korea.


  Photo: OLED-Info.com

Why 48-inch panels? The new factory is the first to utilize so-called multi-model glass (MMG) production, allowing LG Display to cut OLED panels of different sizes from the 8.5G mother substrate. Besides enabling production of smaller panels, it is also said to be a more cost effective production method.

Once fully operational, the Guangzhou plant will almost double the world's OLED TV capacity. A total of 19 TV makers are expected to source OLED panels from LG Display this year, including newcomers like Vizio, Huawei, and Xiaomi. In addition, LG Display is planning to build a more advanced 10.5-generation plant for "super-sized" OLED TVs although the timeline has been drawn out.

While LG Display is continuing to invest in OLED TV technology, Samsung Display has announced plans to invest billions of dollars in QD-based TV displays. Not the LCD-type currently used in the company's "QLED" TVs but instead "next-generation" displays, including rumored QD-OLED displays.

- Source: Business Korea