Companies Flat panels to be the order of the day Samsung Electronics, a leading company in the supply of 40 inch and 46 inch LCD TV panels is attempting to standardize LCD TV sizes. This is a long term project originally started in October 2003 when the company began the construction of the 7th-generation line of panels and continues today through the 8th generation mass production plan it announced a few months ago. It has already equipped itself with a stable mass production system to meet rising demand for the forty inch panels. Based on such stable production capacity, Samsung has been leading a standardization movement by securing a good customer base. Samsung Electronics has also sought a joint venture with Sony to keep the lead in the rapidly growing LCD TV industry. Samsung benefits by securing a stable buyer in LCD panels, and Sony benefits with a steady supply. The joint venture is named S-LCD Corp. its CEO is Chang Won-ki and CFO is Hitomi Masatoshi. Managers in Samsung Electronics and Sony are both participating in the directors' meetings of S-LCD, extending full support for the venture. Based on early favorable results, the two companies decided to make additional investments in the 7th and 8th generation development projects. Samsung's production capacity is quite good. Samsung can now produce 75,000 substrates per month. However, they plan to expand the production capacity to 90,000 per month early next year. At the same time, Samsung also plans to expand the production capacity of its Line 7-2 from the present 45,000 substrates per month to 90,000 substrate by the latter half of this year. Combining the two lines together, Samsung will have the production capacity of 2.16 million substrates per year, according to Suck Joon-hyung, executive vice-president of Samsung. This means that altogether, Samsung is able to produce 1.44 million panels for 40-inch TVs per month, or 17.28 million panels a year. This will account for over 24 percent, or one fourth, of the world's total LCD TV panel shipments in 2007. LG Electronics is not sitting idly by either. It was the first company to begin massproduction of its 71 inch PDP screen, the largest such screen in the world, in the 4th quarter of 2004. The company posted sales during that time of $1.1 billion with a market share of 30.6%, plus sales of 1.45 million sheets. LG also mass-produced Single Scan technology by applying it to 42 and 50 inch XGAs. Clear Filter technology was also applies to the 42 inch screens. LG's processing power keeps it more competitive. LG's PDP division is planning to enlarge the relative importance of High Definition and the premium product group. In September 2005, LG began to operate the company's A3 line, which was designed to be able to secure the largest production capacity over two years to come without additional ground security and factory construction. The company is also scheduled to continue its initiative as the largest manufacturer in the world by opening a second A3 line in the third quarter of 2006. When LG and Samsung are put together, they account for around 55% of the total market for display panels, and are assured to maintain a superior position to other countries for quite some time. However, there are few distinctive differences in terms of price and quality competitiveness among Korea, Japan, and Taiwan's PDP products. Continuous competitiveness appears to be the order of the day in the coming years. PDP TV is rapidly capturing the 50- inch market. In fact, among that market PVP is projected to account for 59% by 2010, while projection TV and LCDs are expected to only hold 20% and 21% respectively. Furthermore, PDP TV market dominance of the large-sized display market is expected to be reinforced, according to Display Search, a market survey institution. LG Electronics is well aware of these trends, and is therefore teaming up with leading universities in Korea regarding an educational-industrial collaboration agreement to create high-grade Master's and Doctorate degree graduates. Although LG and Samsung compete with each other, fierce competition is not limited to these two companies. Japanese, Taiwanese, and Chinese companies are also in the mix. Japanese enterprises are currently trying to recoup the top rank that they lost recently. Taiwanese firms are expanding their market volume rapidly under their government's active support. Chinese companies have newly entered into this stiff market, and lack experience. And Korean chaebol hope to keep the leading position. In the future, LCD companies are expected to be classified into three categories. Currently Korean companies are securing the top position in terms of large-size LCD technology and production capacity. Meanwhile, Japanese companies that commercialized LCD for the first time in the world possess merits in the small and medium-size LCD field. Taiwanese and Chinese companies are still behind the other two in terms of new technology development and the number of patent registrations, but they have been growing at a rapid pace.