Toshiba and Apple are reportedly working together on a brand new manufacturing plant in Japan's Ishikawa Prefecture, specifically to build “low-temperature polysilicon LCD panels,” to be used in Apple's iPhones. Toshiba will be spending about a good $1.9 billion on the project, which will reportedly start building in a month or so, and be done in time to start production by the end of next year. Toshiba already makes some 8.55 million units in its current manufacturing plant, but that production is supposed to double with this new facility.
Apple has been manufacturing its products on a pretty large scale for quite a while now. Even with so many plants around, it cannot keep up with the increasing demand. Thus joining forces with Toshiba is definitely something Apple needs. Apple also has a lot of competi
tors today; some of them are even using the same manufacturers. The more plants Apple invests in, the more unique production locations it will be able to take advantage of later on.
Toshiba Corp will spend about 100 billion yen ($1.19 billion) to build a factory for making small LCD panels, mainly to supply to Apple Inc’s iPhones, the Nikkei business daily said. The company’s wholly owned unit, Toshiba Mobile Display Co, will construct the facility in Ishikawa prefecture and the plant will churn out low-temperature polysilicon LCD panels, which allow for high-resolution images, the paper said. Work on the plant will start by early next year, with the production due to begin in the second half of 2011, Nikkei said. Toshiba Mobile Display already makes low-temperature polysilicon LCD panels at a facility in the prefecture and its monthly production capacity of 8.55 million units is projected to more than double with the new factory, the daily said. Apple will invest in a portion of the investment for the factory, the Nikkei said.