Sharp Breaks Ground for New Kameyama Plant

Sharp Corporation held a ground-breaking ceremony today for its new Kameyama Plant in Kameyama city, Mie Prefecture.

Having been planned for some time, the construction of this new plant started in September 2002 and is scheduled for completion in May 2003, with full production slated to begin in May 2004. It will be an integrated facility for the production of color LCD TVs, from the manufacture of the LCD displays to final assembly of finished products.

This innovative, state-of-the-art, vertically-integrated plant features streamlined and enhanced material flow, production and inspection processes, and will bring together in a single operation Sharp's proprietary LCD and video imaging technologies developed over long years of experience in these fields. The goal is to boost development and design efficiency, and further enhance the upward spiral effect that results from the synergy of core devices and end-user products.

With the completion of the Kameyama Plant, Sharp aims to further expand the market for large-format LCD TVs.

[Kameyama Plant Profile]

•Location: Shiraki-cho, Kameyama City, Mie Prefecture (in the Kameyama-Seki Techno Hills)
•Site area: Approx. 330,400 m2
•Building area: Approx. 66,400 m2
•Total floor area: Approx. 241,200 m2
•Construction type: Steel-reinforced concrete, five floors (frontage: approx. 280 m; depth: approx. 300 m)
•Buildings: Large-format LCD plant, Large-screen LCD TV plant, administration building, etc.

•Total investment: ¥100 billion
•Start of operations: May, 2004
•Employees & staff: Approx. 1,000 (fiscal 2004)

Large-Format LCD Plant
•Total floor area: Approx. 125,200 m2
•Substrate size: 1,500 x 1,800 mm (yield: eight 30-inch panels per substrate)
•Production output: 15,000 panels per month (fiscal 2004)

Large-Screen LCD TV Plant
•Total floor area: Approx. 77,000 m2
•Production line-up: Large-screen LCD TVs (25 inches and larger)
•Production capacity: 100,000 units per month (in 30-inch widescreen TV equivalents) (fiscal 2004)

Kameyama Plant Highlights
1) This plant will utilize the world's largest glass substrates for LCDs, approximately 4.5 times larger in terms of surface area than the substrate size (680 x 880 mm) used at our Mie No. 2 Plant, our current flagship LCD production facility. Yield per substrate will be eight 30-inch panels.
2) Production lines are built around proprietary Sharp process technologies developed through our long years of experience in this industry, with the aim of maintaining the superiority of our production technology capabilities.
3) Working to integrate the entire LCD TV production process, from LCD panels to final assembly:
• Makes possible improvements in overall design and product quality, leading to designs with vastly lower power consumption, lighter weight and thinner profiles.
• Facilitates the streamlining of material transport, production and inspection processes with the goal of reducing production lead times.