Taiwanese LCD-TV Suppliers Make Themselves RoHS Compliant

Taipei, July 31, 2006 (CENS)--To make themselves well prepared for the July 1 implementation of Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive, leading Taiwanese liquid-crystal display television (LCD-TV) suppliers have opened production facilities in Europe.

Tatung Corp.'s senior executives pointed out that Europe emerged as the world's largest market for the TVs last year, absorbing around 34% of the 21 million TVs shipped worldwide. This region would account for 35-40% of global LCD-TV market this year, they estimated.

Tatung, they said, has made Europe its major market and would ramp up shipments there this quarter and the next. Tatung has projected to ship 600,000 LCD TVs and 100,000 plasma display panel (PDP) TVs throughout this year

However, all electronics and electrical appliances bound for Europe are required to comply with RoHS directive beginning July 1 this year to remove or reduce six toxic substances—cadmium, lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE)—from their products.

To comply with the directive, Tatung, they noted, has opened facilities in Europe and asked its contract suppliers to supply it RoHS-compliant components and parts since early this year.

Sampo Technology Corp. has used its facility in Czech to produce RoHS-compliant LCD TVs for the European market and applied ecological materials to its PDP TVs since last quarter. The company has planned to ship 150,000 LCD TVs and 100,000 PDP TVs by the end of this year. It has snatched up 2% of world PDP-TV market and projected to boost the share to 5% in next three years or so.

Samp began developing environmental-protection technologies for its appliances two years ago. The company's executives stressed that the company began delivering lead-free LCD TVs and PDP TVs in March this year.

Chi Mei is producing LCD TVs in Germany and Czech now. RoHS compliance has made the company's sales in Europe shining.

Taiwanese industry watchers pointed out that early preparations for RoHS implementation would help Taiwanese suppliers become more competitive than mainland Chinese suppliers in Europe market. According to them, Europe became the Chinese mainland's second-largest export destination for LCD TVs last year, absorbing US$90.4 billion worth of wares. The directive, they estimated, would hit hard around US$30 billion worth of the mainland's exports to Europe.