Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.(Head Office: Shinjuku-ku,Tokyo, President: Mr.Yoshikoshi Kitajima) and Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.(Head Office: Chiyoda-ku,Tokyo,President: Mr.Shinya Ishizu) today announced to establish a joint-venture company for manufacturing and marketing back plates used in plasma display panels(PDP).

Thought as the most promising flat panel display, PDP will help support the coming digital network age. Rapid increase in household applications, such as TVs and home theaters, and commercial applications, such as advertisements and announcements at airports, stores, etc. are expected, and worldwide PDP production is expected to expand from 0.9 units in 2001 to 4 million in 2005. As a core component in PDP, the back plate composes of electrodes, barrier ribs and phosphors arranged on a transparent glass substrate.

For the past 20 years, DNP has accumulated technologies and patents in back plate production, and has supplied PDP manufacturers with sample products and parts. Moreover, DNP has succeeded in developing electromagnetic shielding films for PDP use and will initiate sales in July.

Meanwhile, Asahi Glass has been involved in glass substrate production from the initial PDP development stages. In July 1995, Asahi Glass was the first to succeed in developing and manufacturing high strain point glass substrates for PDP and has been providing glass substrates since. Asahi Glass leads the market with a 90% share in glass substrates, 40% in optical filters and 20% in glass frits and pastes, and is now a full-scale glass components manufacturer for PDP.

Based on mutual expectations for increased market demands in PDP back plates, DNP and Asahi Glass decided on market entry through a joint establishment by best applying production technologies of both companies. With a capital of 3 billion yen, the new 50/50 joint venture will be established in July 2001. New plant construction is scheduled to begin in October 2001 and operations will start in October 2002. The manufacturing plant will be established within the Asahi Glass Kitakyushu complex, located in Makiyama, Tobata-ku, Kitakyushu-shi, and DNP will license PDP back plate production technologies. Total investments will reach approximately 10 billion yen, and the new company will target sales of 15 billion yen in 2003. The new companies will examine further expansion including transferring DNP's facilities to the new company.

• Profile of the New Joint Venture Company

  1.Company Name	To name at a later date
  2.Headquarters	5-1-1,Makiyama, Tobata-ku, Kitakyushu-shi, Fukuoka (At the Asahi Glass Kitakyushu Complex)
  3.Production Site	Same as above
  4.President	To name at a later date
  5.Capital	3 billion yen
  6.Shareholding	DNP 50%; Asahi Glass 50%
  7.Employees	Approximately 140
  8.Establishment	July 2001

• PDP Panel Structure

  

• English web site

  DNP	http://www.dnp.co.jp/index_e.html
  Asahi Glass	https://www.agc.com/en/