LCD-TV suppliers make themselves RoHS compliant

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on July 31, 2006. It reports that various leading Taiwanese liquid-crystal display television (LCD-TV) suppliers have opened production facilities in Europe, in order to prepare for the implementation of the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive there on July 1, 2006.

Indeed, Europe emerged as the world's largest market for LCD TVs in 2005, absorbing about 34 percent of the 21 million TVs shipped worldwide. Industry insiders estimate that Europe will account for 35 to 40 percent of global LCD-TV market in 2006.

However, beginning on July 1, 2006, all electronics and electrical appliances bound for Europe are required to comply with the RoHS directive. The aim of the directive is to remove or reduce six toxic substances - cadmium, lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) - from these products.

Taiwan's Tatung Corp. has made Europe its major market, and will ramp up shipments there in the third and fourth quarters of 2006. The company has projected to ship 600,000 LCD TVs and 100,000 plasma display panel (PDP) TVs throughout 2006.

In order to comply with the RoHS directive, Tatung has opened facilities in Europe. Since early 2006, the company has asked its contract suppliers to supply RoHS-compliant components and parts.

Meanwhile, Sampo Technology Corp. has used its facility in Czech to produce RoHS-compliant LCD TVs for the European market. Since the second quarter of 2006, the company has also applied ecological materials to its PDP TVs. Specifically, Sampo has planned to ship 150,000 LCD TVs and 100,000 PDP TVs by the end of 2006. The company has snatched up 2 percent of the world's PDP-TV market, and further projected to boost the share to 5 percent in the future three years.

Sampo began developing environmental-protection technologies for its appliances two years ago. The company began delivering lead-free LCD TVs and PDP TVs in March 2006.

Finally, Chi Mei is currently producing LCD TVs in Germany and Czech. Indeed, RoHS compliance has made the company's sales in Europe shine significantly.

According to industry insiders, early preparations for RoHS implementation will help Taiwanese suppliers become more competitive than their Chinese competitors in the European market. specifically, in 2005, Europe became China's second-largest export destination for LCD TVs, absorbing US$90.4 billion worth of wares. The RoHS directive is expected to hit hard around US$30 billion worth of China's exports to Europe.