OREANDA-NEWS. August 29, 2011. Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Technology launched its first-phase production of 8.5-generation LCD panel. The project received the biggest amount of investment since the city's founding. The launch marked that the high-generation TFT-LCD production line, which China built on its own, was put into production and operation. Present at the Production Launch Ceremony were Wang Rong, a member of the Standing Committee of Guangdong Provincial Committee of Communist Party of China and the Secretary of Shenzhen Municipal Committee of Communist Party of China, Chen Yunxian, the Vice Governor of Guangdong Province and Xu Qin, the Mayor of Shenzhen, as well as officials from Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, reported the press-centre of TCL.

Chen Yunxian expressed his congratulations to China Star Optoelectronics Technology on its launch of production on behalf of the provincial committee of the CPC and the provincial government, saying that the company's 8.5-generation LCD panel production line in Shenzhen filled a blank of high-generation LCD panel in South China and helped promote closer cooperation between the upstream and downstream of the industry chain, such as producers of glass substrate, color filter and polarizer. It is of strategic significance in improving the industry chain of flat-panel display, increasing the ability of independent innovation, enhancing the overall competitiveness of electronic information industry and accelerating the industry's restructuring and upgrading.

Qi Chengyuan, director from National Development and Reform Committee, and Ding Wenwu, deputy director from Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, also made speeches and sent their congratulations on the production of China Star Optoelectronics project. They fully recognized the project's role and importance and said they would continue to provide greater support to the production of new types of display.

Wang Rong said in his speech that Shenzhen was the first national innovation city and the national electronic-information base and both its municipal committee of the CPC and the municipal government attached high attention to the development of flat-panel display industry and was making great efforts to build a research, development and production base in this field. As the highest generation of TFT-LCD production line built by China on its own, the project set a new milestone in the electronic information industry of Shenzhen and the whole Guangdong Province and was of strategic importance in improving relative industries through China's own independent innovation, enhancing China's own coordination capability and application level in flat-panel display industry and pushing forward the strategic transformation of color TV industry, as well as in restructuring electronic information industry and fostering a new industry of strategic importance at a higher speed.

Li Dongsheng, Chairman of TCL Corporation and China Star Optoelectronics Technology, expressed his gratitude to relative ministries, leaders of various levels from Guangdong Province and Shenzhen governments and people from different sectors of the society for their great support given to the project ever since its establishment. He said that China Star Optoelectronics Technology's 8.5-generation LCD panel project was the highest generation of LCD panel production line in China that was built by itself through independent innovation. Its launch would change China's dependence on foreign core component in producing LCD TV sets, help build China's LCD TV industry chain and promote its healthy and sustainable development. It would also develop upstream and downstream sectors along the display industry chain, such as glass substrate, color filter, polarizer, photo resistant, liquid crystal material and LED lighting sources, and was of great significance to increasing Chinese flat-panel display industry's international competitiveness. The launch of the project and the first-phase production marked the transition of China Star Optoelectronics Technology from its construction period to its production and operation period.

He Chengming, CEO of China Star Optoelectronics Technology, said that the company started construction on March 15, 2010 and everything has been going well so far. The company has made innovative progress in project management, building management system, technical innovation and patent strategy. With scientific design of production technologies and processes, the company has completed the construction of its 720,000-square-meter main factories within 17 months, including array factory, cell forming factory, color filter factory and module factory, all of which have been decorated and are fitted with equipment and power system. The company has also completed the construction of water supply and drainage systems and chemical gas facilities, as well as the test and coordination of production equipment and the adjustment and improvement of production technologies. The project, which was the highest generation of panel production line in China, finished its construction at a record speed.

China Star Optoelectronics Technology has a total of 2,295 staff, including 192 professionals from Taiwan, South Korea and other countries and 110 professionals from mainland China with working experience in related industries. Its core team has been working on high-generation LCD panel production line for many years and is highly competent in research and development (R&D), production abilities and technical skills. At present, China Star Optoelectronics Technology has 276 technical patent applications, including 231 patents for inventions, and has purchased 101 technical patents from other countries. The company's R&D center has established four specialized laboratories and has finished the R&D work of 32-inch and 46-inch LED TV modules. With international leading companies as its role model, the center has started studying and introducing the latest generation of production processes, products and technologies.

China Star Optoelectronics Technology's supporting projects are under development at the same time: the company will produce color filter by itself; Asahi Glass started its TFT-LCD project on June 23, 2011 and plans to begin mass production in the third quarter of 2012; the company has signed agreement with LG Chemical for strategic cooperation on the technologies and production related to polarizer and photo resistant used in flat-panel display; the company also signed agreement with Harvatek Internaional from Taiwan in June on a joint program concerning LED lighting source.

China Star Optoelectronics Technology is expected to start mass production of 18,000 glass plates per month by the end of the fourth quarter this year and plans to reach its full production capacity of 100,000 glass plates per month by the end of next year.

Industry analysts believed that China Star Optoelectronics Technology's 8.5-generation production line, as the mainstream means of producing TV panels in the future, will promote closer upstream-downstream cooperation in the LCD-panel industry chain, improve the structure of China's LCD TV industry and accelerate building modern industrial system, as well as increase the competitiveness of Chinese electronic industry in the global market. After the start of its mass production in the fourth quarter, TCL Corporation will realize its strategic goal to complete building the entire industry chain of LCD display and become the first company in China that can produce LCD TV sets all by itself, further improving its international competitiveness.