Toray Group, Japan’s largest manufacturer of panel protective films, plans to spend NT$1.24 billion (US$42.6 million) to create a new company in Taiwan to expand capacity amid growing demand, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said yesterday.
The new company, Toray Advanced Film Kaohsiung Co, will build a plant at the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Lujhu (路竹), Greater Kaohsiung.
According to the ministry statement, the plant is slated for mass production of Toretec film in January 2013, with an expected annual production capacity of 15, 400 tonnes.
Toretec, based in Tokyo, is a polyethylene self-adhesive protective film produced by the group’s subsidiary, Toray Advanced Film Co (TAF). It is used as a process paper during the manufacturing of optical film for liquid crystals and as film protecting the surfaces of other component boards.
The move marks Toray Group’s first establishment of an overseas Toretec production house in a bid to cope with the strong demand for LCD monitors and TVs across the globe.
“TAF has been fully utilizing its production capacity against the backdrop of robust global demand, but further increase in capacity became imperative as supplies have not been keeping pace with demand,” according to a company statement posted on its Web site yesterday.
The ministry also said the “foray signifies the quality of the talent pool in Taiwan, the benefits brought by the ECFA [Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement], as well as the attractiveness of Taiwan’s lower corporate taxes.”
In addition to Toray Group, the ministry recently clinched several major tech investment deals.
US server maker Super Micro Computer Inc is building a 5 hectare industrial park in Bade (八德), Taoyuan County, at a cost of NT$5 billion.
The Silicon Valley-based Super Micro, which rivals Hewlett--Packard Co and Dell Inc in the server production sector, plans to tap Taiwan’s technology supply chain and lower labor costs.
Its project is expected to add 3,000 jobs to the employment market.
HP late last year also invested NT$3.6 billion in the establishment of a “Computing Hub” at Nangang Software Park in Taipei to design PCs including tablets and related applications, such as multi-touch and 3D.
Formation of the hub will boost HP’s procurement of Taiwanese electronics to US$90 billion over a three-year phase starting from this year.
Japanese firms Furukawa Electric Co and Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd are also going to invest NT$2.4 billion and about NT$130 million respectively to set up production facilities in Taiwan.
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