| Sharp will build a new plant in Sakai City, Japan for the combined production of 10th-generation LCD panels and thin-film solar cells, according to TWICE Magazine.
The new plant will "incorporate relevant infrastructure and facilities, as well as attract material and production equipment manufacturers to construct plants on the same site," Sharp said.
Sharp will spend about $3.2 billion on the facility, which it has dubbed "a manufacturing complex for the 21st Century."It will be used to further development of the vertically integrated business model Sharp began at its Kameyama plant, the company said.
Sharp said "a number of leading material manufacturers such as glass substrate and color filter makers will be invited" to set up plants adjacent to the new manufacturing complex.
The sharing of infrastructure such as gas and electricity would improve productivity, Sharp said.
"The aim is to achieve vertical integration that transcends the barriers between companies by pushing the vertically integrated business model created at the Kameyama Plant ?from LCD panels to LCD TVs ?further upstream in the supply chain," according to a Sharp statement.
Construction is slated to start in November of this year, with production operations scheduled to start by March 2010. |
