| May. 18, 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Toray Industries, Inc. |
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Panasonic and Toray to Build World's Largest PDP Plant in Japan -- New Plant to Expand Panasonic's Total Capacity to 4.5 Million a Year -- |
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| Osaka, Japan – Market leader in plasma
display TVs, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., best known for its Panasonic
brand products, and diversified chemical group Toray Industries, Inc. today announced
that their joint venture company, Matsushita Plasma Display Panel Company Ltd.
(MPDP), will reinforce its PDP (Plasma Display Panel) manufacturing capability
by constructing a third plant in Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture. MPDP will
invest 95 billion yen in the new plant, giving Panasonic the largest commercial
production capability for PDPs in the world. The new plant, located in the Osaka Bay area, will have a production capacity of over 250,000 units monthly (calculated as the basis of 42-inch screen-size panels) and more than 3 million PDPs annually -- the largest in the world in terms of production volume. MPDP will break ground for the new plant in September this year with an anticipated opening date in November 2005. The new plant is Panasonic’s fourth PDP manufacturing facility. In addition to two current plants in Japan, the company also operates a PDP plant in China, Shanghai Matsushita Plasma Display Co., Ltd. The four plants’ total PDP output will be 4.5 million units per annum. With the largest commercial production capacity in the industry, Panasonic continues to strive to capture the leading share in the global flat-panel TV market. “By introducing next-generation process technologies and production systems, Panasonic will strengthen its commitment to the global PDP market," said Mr. Fumio Ohtsubo, President of Panasonic AVC Networks Company. To maximize efficiency and quality, all our PDP plants, including this new one, have an integrated production system from devices and components such as LSIs and plasma panels to finished products. This end-to-end production is Panasonic’s big advantage.” The new plant will be able to manufacture large glass substrates used in making PDPs to increase productivity and realize speedy and flexible supply. “Driven by surging demand in Japan, the US and Europe, the PDP market continues to grow rapidly,”Mr. Ohtsubo added. “Digital terrestrial broadcasting services were introduced in Japan last December, and the digital broadcasting infrastructure is now being built in other parts of the world such as China and Southeast Asia, where large-screen and high-resolution flat-panel TVs are finding their way into living rooms. PDPs are also becoming more popular for public displays as well as for medical and educational applications. By the year 2008, PDP worldwide demand is expected to exceed 10 million units or 3 trillion yen.” Positioning PDP as their core business, Panasonic and Toray are committed to running MPDP together and making a significant contribution to the progress of the audio-visual industry on a global scale. |
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Profile of New Manufacturing Facility |
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About Panasonic Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., best known for its Panasonic brand name, is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronic products for a wide range of consumer, business, and industrial needs. Based in Osaka, Japan, the Company recorded consolidated sales of US$71.92 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004. Matsushita's shares are listed on the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, New York (NYSE:MC), Euronext, Amsterdam and Frankfurt stock exchanges. For more information on the company and its Panasonic brand, visit the Matsushita website at http://www.panasonic.co.jp/global/top.html. About Toray Toray, a leading diversified chemicals corporate group, has been technology-focused since its foundation in 1926. The company’s operations are underpinned by technological expertise in organic synthetic chemistry, polymer chemistry, and biochemistry- Toray’s three core technologies. These innovative technologies have yielded “advanced materials” that Toray is now exploiting to provide customers with comprehensive solutions through Fibers and Textiles, Plastics and Chemicals, IT-related Products, Housing and Engineering, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Products, New Products and Other Business divisions. In FY2003, Toray had consolidated sales of 1,089 billion yen (approx $10.3 billion), and over 32,000 employees worldwide. For further information, please check www.toray.co.jp. |
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