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Matsushita set to increase plasma panel production

A Matsushita Electric Industrial employee displays the world's largest plasma display panel TV ''Viera,'' left, at Asia's largest electronics trade show in Chiba, Japan, yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, the Osaka-based maker of Panasonic-brand products, said yesterday it will boost plasma panel production capacity a further 10 percent at its second plant in Amagasaki next year to meet surging demand.

Matsushita will increase capacity at its Amagasaki No. 2 plant to 6.6 million units next year instead of 6 million units as originally planned, company spokesman Akira Kadota said. The plant, which began operation in June, has capacity of 2.16 million unit a year.

The expansion plan calls for the company to increase production by boosting efficiency at production lines to be installed later this month and next year, Kadota said. It will not require additional capital expenditure over the original ?180 billion (US$1.6 billion) set aside for the plant, he said.

The decision to increase the plant's capacity is to "meet the surging demand for the thin TV panels," Kadota said.

Matsushita will start construction next month on plasma panel plant Amagasaki No. 3, which at full capacity will give the company the ability to produce 23 million plasma panels a year. An earlier press release says the Amagasaki No. 3 plant will be the world's largest plasma panel plant in the world, able to produce 1 million 42-inch panels a month.

Matsushita has five plasma panel plants -- two in Amagasaki, two in Osaka and one in Shanghai. An older facility at Ibaraki is now used to make prototypes.
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