While the economy is in dire straits, flat-panel TVs have been flying off shelves. In response to the sales, Sharp plans to increase production of LCD panels by tens of thousands of screens per month to satiate the demand, which was higher than anticipated in the first half of the year. Sharp's full-year shipment projections have jumped from 120 million to 127 million.
The company intends on boosting production at its number two Kameyama factory from 90,000 glass substrates per month to 100,000, after August. The substrates measure 2.16 by 2.46 meters and can produce as many as eight 40" or six 50" LCD panels. Although an additional 10,000 substrates will be produced, the number of screens produced will actually be many times that figure.
Full-scale production started at the Kameyama plant in April, and the company vowed to set-up-house at its $4.1 billion Sakai location by October. The new factory is more advanced and outputs even larger substrates measuring up to 2.88 by 3.13 meters.