Corning opens China LCD site, eyes rapid growth

By Jason Subler

BEIJING, March 28 (Reuters) - Specialty glass maker Corning Inc (GLW.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) opened its first LCD glass plant in China on Friday, saying it plans to continue to expand capacity to keep up with growing demand for LCD displays in the country.

The plant, based in Beijing, adds to existing LCD glass facilities in the United States, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

It will produce glass for thin-film transistor liquid-crystal displays (TFT-LCDs), used in products such as flat-screen computer monitors and televisions. It will initially focus on finishing glass, not the full process of melting.

James Clappin, president of Corning's Display Technologies unit, told Reuters ahead of an opening ceremony that the Corning, New York-based company would continue to invest in China to keep pace with demand from local LCD panel makers.

"We'll add the right amount of processing, even front-end processing, at the right time, when the industry is ready to expand to that level," Clappin said.

"We do expect it to grow, and when it does grow, we'll grow with it."

Clappin declined to say how big the facility in Beijing was, how much investment it involved or when it might move on to the full process of glass production, citing the risk of giving key information away to competitors.

John Bayne, president of Corning's China Display Technologies unit, said that he expected its LCD glass sales in China to grow at or above the worldwide growth rate of 25-30 percent that the company projects for LCD glass demand this year.