Company Opens New Manufacturing Facilities in Shanghai

Philips' two new manufacturing sites are the latest tangible evidence of the long-standing relationship between the company and China. Philips has devoted considerable resources to expanding its presence in China to further its leadership position in displays, optical storage and connectivity. Optimally located near major suppliers and key technology partners, the new facilities are also in close proximity to several major universities, allowing Philips to draw from the local pool of technical and managerial talent.

Commenting on the opening Peter Hopper, Philips Components' Regional Executive Asia Pacific, said, "Our recent investment in Shanghai demonstrates our commitment to our customers and this region. Our goal is to strengthen our ability to deliver, on a timely basis and in sufficient capacity, best-in-class integrated digital solutions for high-volume markets -- all of which will be instrumental to our customers' success.''

Mobile Displays

Philips is one of the world's leading providers of flat display solutions for mobile applications, including the telecommunications, smart-handhelds, automotive and avionics markets. Specifically, this bipane facility will be the largest (in terms of volume) and most sophisticated super twisted nematic (STN) factory in the world. As a result, Philips will have the high-volume capacity to meet the mobile device market's need for both monochrome and color STN displays. Moreover, it solidly positions Philips to take advantage of the telecommunications sector's rapid transition to color, which is expected to occur over the next two years.

Featuring two standard STN product lines, the plant is equipped to cost effectively produce up to 120,000 sets of coupled glass per month (14- and 16-inch substrates). The facility, which will employ up to 250 people, features approximately 6,000 square meters of clean room space and comes equipped with the latest, state-of-the-art LCD manufacturing equipment. Fully automated through sophisticated robotics, the manufacturing line offers superior flexibility in changing production sizes, and advanced test and measurement equipment to enhance quality and improve yield. This latest factory complements an existing 12,000-square-meter facility that produces application-specific color and monochrome passive and active matrix LCDs.

Optical Storage

Philips is also a leading innovator of CD and DVD formats for the information technology and consumer electronics markets. Philips' optical storage portfolio include drives, subassemblies and components related to audio, video, data and games playback, as well as rewritable CD and DVD technologies for both consumer electronics and data markets. Covering an area of approximately 36,900 square meters, the company's new optical storage facility will produce drive mechanisms, loaders and optical pick-up units (OPUs), which are used in every CD-R and CD-RW drive.

This plant replaces an existing optical storage facility, operating in this locale since 1996, and allows the company to centralize its manufacturing operations in Shanghai. The concentration of production at a single location will further increase the efficiency and competitive strength of Philips' optical storage activities in this region. The new facility features a state-of-the-art, efficient manufacturing floor and assembly lines able to support high-volume demand for optical storage products.

Philips' new LCD manufacturing facility is located at: Wai Gao Qiao Free Trade Zone, BaSheng Road, Pudong, Shanghai, PRC. The optical storage factory is located at: Wai Gao Qiao Free Trade Zone, No. 18, Ai Du Road, Pudong, Shanghai, 200131, PRC.

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of $28.8 billion (EUR 32.3 billion) in 2001. It is a global leader in color television sets, lighting, electric shavers, medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring, and one-chip TV products. Its 189,000 employees in more than 60 countries are active in the areas of lighting, consumer electronics, domestic appliances, components, semiconductors, and medical systems.