LG Display has announced that it will invest in a new OLED light panel manufacturing facility. The planned facility will be the first Gen-5 (1000mm x 1200mm) OLED light panel manufacturing plant in the world. It is to be located in the South Korean city of Gumi, where it will produce a range of OLED light panels.
The initial input capacity at the plant will be 15,000 glass substrates per month. The monthly input capacity could be gradually ramped up depending on the market situation. Mass production to start in first half of 2017.
LG Display expects the increased production with the new facility to give the company economies-of-scale. This will help the company achieve significant price competitiveness. In addition, the accumulated OLED display technical know-how will allow LG Display to considerably enhance OLED light product quality.
The Gen-5 facility will give the company panel size flexibility. With the larger glass substrate, LG Display will be able to produce a wide range of different size light panels, including large area ones. Further, this ability to make large area panels will better enable the company to penetrate the general lighting market.
The investment decision follows the acquisition by LG Display of the OLED light business from LG Chem in December, 2015.
The plan for the new facility is in keeping with LG Display's vision of bringing OLED lighting technology to customers around the world in the broadest array of applications.
The company will focus on:
- initially task lighting and decorative lighting in high-end retail stores and in luxury hospitality
- then general lighting beyond this
- as well as automotive
- and applications that merge OLED light panels with furniture, architectural materials, and electronic devices
Mr. Young Kwon Song, Senior Vice President and Head of Strategy & Marketing Group at LG Display, said, "Our OLED light business will further strengthen LG Display's commitment to nurture OLED as the future growth engine. Based on LG Display’s strong track-record and know-how in OLED display business, we will create synergy with the OLED light business and maintain our strong position in the overall OLED industry going forward."
Background
LG’s OLED light experience began in 2000 with R&D into OLED materials at the Group’s chemicals affiliate, LG Chem, with production of OLED light panels beginning in 2012. The acquisition last year of the OLED light panel manufacturing business by LG Display has been creating synergies with its production infrastructure and technology in OLED displays. It allows the company to save costs through integrated purchasing and shared investments, increase productivity by drawing on the accumulated knowledge of the display business, and help improve production infrastructure and use of technology patents.
Source: LG Display
According to UBI Research, a market research firm, the OLED light market is expected to grow rapidly from US$ 135 million in 2016 to US$ 1.6 billion in 2020.
| OLED Light Market Projection (Unit: US$ 1 million) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
| Revenue | 135 | 251 | 337 | 809 | 1,619 |
Source: UBI Research