By Craig Zammit
SOUTH KOREA: The decision by South Korea’s LG Electronics to shut down a plasma display panel plant on its home soil in order to cut costs will not affect the Australian market, an LG Electronics spokesperson told Current.com.au.
“LG Electronics Australia anticipates that the closure of the Gumi A1 plasma plant in South Korea will have no effect on it meeting supply demands for the Australian market,” LG Electronics Category manager – AV, Darren Goble.
“LG Electronics will maintain its position as a leading supplier of digital TV’s in the Australian market, by offering an extensive range of products that cater to the diverse and evolving needs of local consumers.”
LG Electronics announced last week that it will stop producing flat panels at one of its four PDP plants in Gumi, South Korea, with the shut down scheduled for the first half of 2007.
The plant closure is part of LG Electronics’ plan to increase operational efficiency and rejuvenate its plasma display panel business.
The A1 plant is the oldest of the company’s four PDP factories, with an annual production capacity of 840,000 42-inch panels. Its closure will reduce LG’s total 42-inch plasma display module production capacity to 4.32 million panels a year.