Linde Bags €50 Million Gas Contract With Samsung For TFT-LCD Production
Linde LienHwa (Linde), a specialist gas supplier for the electronics industry, has signed a long-term deal with Samsung Electronics.
Linde will supply gases for Samsung's latest 8.5 generation TFT-LCD manufacturing plant in Suzhou Industrial Park, China. Overall investment for the deal with Samsung is in the region of € 50 million. This will double Linde's capacity in Suzhou Industrial Park, and demonstrates the significant growth potential of this market.
Massive volumes of ultra-high purity gases are needed in the manufacture of TFT-LCD screens. They are used to create the microscopic thin-film transistors (TFTs) required to control each of the thousands of pixels that make up the visible image.
Linde says it has become the first choice gas supply
partner for TFT-LCD manufacturing in China with substantial gas contracts in
place with three of the largest flat panel display manufacturers.
Under the latest agreement, Linde will provide Samsung Electronics with a turnkey installation of the TFT-LCD plant's bulk gases supply systems, with a gas-on-line date of the end of 2012.The firm is constructing a new on-site SPECTRA-N 30,000 series nitrogen generator supplying gas to Samsung via an underground pipeline.
According to IHS iSuppli, global large panel area capacity is set to increase by 78 percent in the next four years, reaching 283 million square metres by 2015. In 2012 alone, the analyst specialist predicts a 30 percent growth in large panel area capacity globally, with an increase of 151 percent in China.
"This new project significantly strengthens our industry references and reinforces our leading role in the TFT-LCD industry. The agreement with Samsung Electronics demonstrates our commitment to help our customers develop state of the art manufacturing solutions. It also shows we are confident about the growth of the electronics market in Asia," says Andrew Lau, President and General Manager of Linde LienHwa China.
Peter Owen, Head of Linde's Global Electronics
business and Asia Joint Venture Management, concludes, "This significant
contract is further acknowledgement of our global capability to supply and
service leading TFT-LCD manufacturers with a full portfolio of gases and
equipment. We look forward to building a strong working relationship with
Samsung Electronics at their Suzhou site."
Samsung's new panel facility has been constructed by Suzhou Samsung LCD (SSL). SSL was established in April 2011 as a joint venture between Samsung, SIP and TCL Corporation. SIP is expected to become China's largest advanced LCD production cluster.