LG.Philips to open Gen 7 facility soon

LG.Philips LCD Holds Ceremony to Mark Beginning of Equipment Installation at Gen 7 Facility LG.Philips LCD held a ceremony today to mark the beginning of equipment installation for the first phase of its Gen 7 facility, "P7". P7, which is the center-piece of LG.Philips LCD's Paju Display Cluster, is expected to begin mass production of LCD panels for 42- and 47-inch HDTVs and large and wide PC monitors in the first half of 2006.

Commenting on the progress of construction of the Paju Display Cluster, which broke ground in March 2004, LG.Philips LCD Vice Chairman & CEO Bon Joon Koo said "The Paju Display Cluster is distinguished by the rapid pace of construction, which was made possible by the active support of the central government, Gyeonggi Province, Paju City and other authorities. LG.Philips LCD will continue to focus on enhancing its competitiveness with the successful introduction of this new facility."

During the ceremony, Gyeonggi Province Governor Hak-kyu Sohn said, "I am confident that LG.Philips LCD and the Paju Display Cluster will soon emerge as one of the world's largest TFT-LCD production bases. To facilitate this development, Gyeonggi Province and Paju City will continue to support the construction of an industrial complex for parts suppliers and related infrastructure."

The ceremony, which took place at the P7 construction site in the Paju Display Cluster, was attended by Hak-kyu Sohn, the governor of Gyeonggi Province, Jae-hoon Lee, head of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy's Trade and Investment Policy Office, Jae-chang Lee and Young-sun Kim, both of whom are National Assembly lawmakers, and other representatives of the central government and Paju City. LG.Philips LCD executives in attendance included Vice Chairman & CEO Bon Joon Koo and President & CFO Ron Wirahadiraksa. In addition, many executives and employees of LG.Philips LCD's equipment and parts suppliers were present.