BOE, Foxconn Are Corning’s Panel Partners at 2 New Gen 10.5 Glass Plants, Says DSCC 

Corning in its Investor Day presentation Friday didn’t name the LCD panel suppliers it’s partnering with at its two new Gen 10.5 glass factories in China (see 1906140027), but “we know” that Foxconn will be the partner at the Guangzhou glass plant and BOE will occupy that role at the Wuhan glass factory, blogged Display Supply Chain Consultants President Bob O’Brien Tuesday. Corning already partners with BOE at a Gen 10.5 plant in Hefei, China, that the glassmaker said last week is nearing capacity after starting production about a year ago. Corning customarily signs 10-year supply agreements with panel partners as a means of “de-risking” its glass-factory investments in China, said Jim Clappin, Corning Glass Technologies executive vice president, at Friday’s conference. “In recent years, Corning has walked a fine line in describing the technology battle between LCD and OLED,” said O’Brien. “Corning clearly has a preference for LCD,” but it also has been “cautious about downplaying” OLED, he said: “In his presentation, Clappin threw away that caution and put Corning’s position squarely on LCD.”