LG to Start Production of OLEDs in China Next Month, Set to Double OLED Output
by Anton Shilov on July 11, 2019 4:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Monitors
- Displays
- LG
- OLED
- LG Display
LG Display this week said that its plant in Guangzhou, China, would start full swing operations next month. The factory, which cost LG around $4.2 billion, will produce large OLED panels for Ultra-HD televisions. The new manufacturing capacity will nearly double LG’s output of OLED substrates and will enable the company to cut its costs.
LGD’s new 8.5G (2200×2500) OLED factory in Guangzhou will produce 60,000 substrates for large TVs per month, which will almost double output of the company’s OLED substrates to 130,000 per month. Eventually, the plant will be expanded with the second line and will increase its capacity to 90,000 substrates per month.
One of the world’s largest makers of OLED panels first announced plans to build a plant in China in mid-2017. It took LG Display a year to obtain necessary permissions from the Chinese and South Korean governments and then a year to build the factory. This month the company starts trial production and next month mass production is set to commence
LG Display invested about $4.2 billion in its Guangzhou facility, but it hopes the expenses will pay off. Firstly, there are lower wages in China when compared to South Korea. Secondly, subsidies from the Chinese government will enable LG to cut its depreciation costs by 65%. Thirdly, the new fab could allow LG to offset possible disruption of OLED production in South Korea because of the ongoing diplomatic conflict between Japan and South Korea. Fourthly, it will make LG Display more competitive against companies like BOE in the Chinese market.
Increased output and lower production costs will allow LG to make its OLED panels and therefore OLED TVs cheaper. Still, the exact effect is something that remains to be seen.
Related Reading:
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- LG To Close Korean Phone Manufacturing Plants - Relying On Cheaper Overseas Factories
- LG Announces The New G8 & V50 5G ThinQ
- CES 2019: LG Announces Signature OLED TV R - A Rollable TV
Sources: The Investor, OLED Info
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nevcairiel - Friday, July 12, 2019 - link
PC monitors are far more susceptible to this then TVs. The task bar, for example, or even windowo decorations that are commonly in the same spot.But also when gaming a lot on the TV with a console. Its somethign you absolutely need to be aware of when owning an OLED. It might not be a problem, but it could be, hence knowing helps to avoid it.
cjcox - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
I know you think you're serious with your color fade burn-in comment, but generally speaking, people aren't likely to hold on to their TV for 15 years... and likely not much more than 5.mooninite - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
People dump their $3k / 75" TVs every 2-3 years? Uh... ?I still have my Samsung DLP (LED driven) rear projection from 2007. Yes, 2007. It's 12 years old. I have only had to replace the DLP chip in it. The LEDs are still going strong and the picture is still the best 1080p you can buy outside of a 1080p LED DLP projector. It is "smart" with it's serial interface controlled by my HTPC. One remote for everything.
oRAirwolf - Saturday, July 13, 2019 - link
You know you can buy 1080p LG OLED TVs right? You seriously think a DLP television produces a better picture than that?Zoolook13 - Friday, August 16, 2019 - link
LG doesn't make 1080p OLED panels anymore afaik, only 4K, would have to be a used one.RSAUser - Friday, July 12, 2019 - link
My TV is from 2010, still looks pretty good, was a flagship at the time. Don't think I'll be upgrading any time soon either.Duncan Macdonald - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
For computer monitors, the limited life of OLEDs with the variable colour shift with age is a problem - good monitors are often used for 10 years or more. The 5 year (or less) life before visible colour artifacts on OLED monitors effectively increases their price.(Computer monitor OLED displays age faster than OLED TVs due to them having more static content than TVs.)
0iron - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
"LGD’s new 8.5G (2200×2500) OLED factory in Guangzhou will produce 60,000 substrates for large TVs per month, which will almost double output of the company’s OLED substrates to 130,000 per month. Eventually, the plant will be expanded with the second line and will increase its capacity to 90,000 substrates per month."Increase capacity from 60k to 130k then to 90k? Am I reading wrongly?
DanNeely - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
It could be worded better. Currently they're making 70k per month. The new factory will add 60k/mo for a total of 130k/mo. Eventually they plan to upgrade the new factory to 90k/mo which will lift the company wide total to 160/mo.damianrobertjones - Friday, July 12, 2019 - link
" therefore OLED TVs cheaper"I'll believe this when I see it. A companies main aim is to make $$$$. 'IF' sales of standard televisions are falling... then and only then will OLED be pushed as a replacement for that standard. Repeat forever.