Flat panel maker AU Optronics Corp (AUC, 友達光電) said yesterday it was planning to build TV set assembly bases in Europe and the North America next year.
“AUO will make the investments through its subsidiary in China, BriView Technology Corp (景智科技), tapping the markets in Europe and America,” said AU Optronics spokesperson Hsiao Ya-wen (蕭雅文).
Paul Peng (彭雙浪), executive vice president of AUO’s Global Business Unit, said BriView was likely to establish TV set assembly facilities in the Czech Republic, where AU Optronics runs a flat panel assembly plant, but the joint venture was also considering other options.
In North America, Peng said, BriView may choose Mexico. The US will be an unlikely site for the new investment because of high production costs, he said.
BriView, which has been contracted by major global TV vendors to produce LED TV sets on an OEM basis, is expected to ship about 1 million TVs this year, less than the company had previously estimated.
Peng said BriView was expanding, however, to boost its monthly production capacity to 200,000 to 300,000 units in the near future.
In China, AU Optronics also operates flat panel assembly plants in Suzhou, Songjiang and Xiamen, while it is working with Chinese home appliance firms, such as Sichuan Changhong Group (四川長虹集團), Haier Group (海爾集團) and TCL Group, to run flat panel assembly facilities.
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