March 25, 2004

By: Matt Arp
Website: http://www.1st-in-hdtv.com

Matsushita Electric (Panasonic) establishes company to manufacture plasma display panels

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., best known by its Panasonic brand name, today announced that it will establish Matsushita Plasma Display Production Co., Ltd. (MPDP) on July 1, 2000. Located in Ibaraki City, Osaka, the new company will be Matsushita's PDP manufacturing base in Japan, producing PDP panel devices and assembling PDP television sets. Production will begin in June 2001.

Digital broadcasting began in both the U.S. and Europe in 1998. And BS (broadcast satellite) digital broadcasting will start in Japan this December. Through the convergence of digital broadcast and telecommunication technologies, digital networking will rapidly expand not only in the business arena, but also in the home. Under these circumstances, plasma display panels -- the market for which is expected to expand to 4 million units worldwide in 2005 -- are viewed as display devices with great potential.

In an attempt to establish a flexible manufacturing system that meets the requirements of the expanding global PDP market, Matsushita Electric has separated the PDP manufacturing function from the original PDP division. The new company will employ information and telecommunications technology to further establish an automated production system and real-time management of market information. By establishing a highly efficient, sophisticated and integrated PDP production organization responsible for manufacturing PDP devices and assembling PDP television sets, Matsushita Electric is making possible a flexible supply of product on a rapid basis, while also attempting to further reduce costs.

Author Notes:

Matt Arp contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.1st-in-hdtv.com.  Great information on high definition, plasma, projection, LCD TV's plus home theaters and more.