LGD Begins Mass OLED Production in China After COVID 'Demand Volatility'

After delays caused by the COVID-19 outbreak and “demand volatility,” LG Display announced Wednesday the start of mass production at its Gen 8.5 OLED panel fab in Guangzhou, China. LG has been sending 900 “core engineers” by chartered flights to Guangzhou since March, it said. Plant capacity is 60,000 sheets per month, supplementing the company’s 70,000-sheet capacity at its OLED panel plant in Paju, South Korea. The “high-efficiency” Guangzhou plant will produce 48-, 55-, 65- and 77-inch “high valued-added” and “extra large” OLED panels, it said. Monthly capacity is expandable to 90,000 sheets, based on market demand, the company said. LGD is able to produce more than 10 million OLED TV panels annually based on a 55-inch panel by maximizing production capacity of its Paju and Guangzhou plants, it said. OLED profitability is expected to improve through economies of scale. LGD will supply OLED displays to global customers from its Guangzhou plant, including panels for diversified product categories. It hopes to collaborate with other industries to provide “differentiated and premium values unique to OLED,” it said. “Large-size OLED business is the essential growth engine of LG Display for the future,” said CEO Jeong Ho-young. The company plans to differentiate by widening the "technological gap between the company and the other following players in the industry.” Some 19 TV brands are manufacturing OLED TVs, with about 4.4 million units forecast to sell this year worldwide, LGD said, citing Omdia data. About 12 million units are forecast to be sold in 2025. LGD Q2 revenue increased 12% from Q1 on spiking laptop, tablet and desktop monitor panel sales amid the COVID-19 demand for telework and remote-learning connectivity tools, said the company Thursday.