TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- Innolux Corp (群創), one of Taiwan's leading Taiwanese LCD panel makers, announced on Thursday (June 20) that it is moving some production from China back to Taiwan to shield U.S. customers from the impact of Trump's tariffs on Chinese-made goods.
At a press conference on Thursday, the Miaoli-based company announced that it was shifting some of its China production to a new plant in Tainan to avoid raising costs for consumers in the U.S. due to the tariffs the Trump administration has imposed on goods from China. It also said that despite adversity in the panel industry this year, the company's revenue levels will stay in line with last year's.
Regarding the impact of the U.S.-China trade war, Yang Chu-hsiang (楊柱祥), general manager of Innolux, announced that construction of a new assembly plant has been completed and the factory has already started to roll out small orders this month, reported UDN. Yang said that it is the first Taiwanese company to assemble TV sets in Taiwan and sell them to the U.S. market.
The production target for the first stage is 200,000 units, said Yang. Once production goes into full swing, the factory will be able to crank out 60,000 TV sets per month, according to the report.
He said that the new plant's location in Taiwan will help shorten the delivery time to the U.S. market. Yang said that even if prices in the LCD panel market weaken, the company should be able to maintain revenue at the same level as last year.
Company chairman Jim Hung (left), board member Wang Jyh-chao (right). (CNA photo)
Yang said that one-stop manufacturing and production in Taiwan, coupled with shipping from Taiwan to the U.S., will save eight days of logistics and warehousing costs compared with shipments from Southeast Asia, effectively increasing profits and unit prices, reported UDN.
Its plants based in Foshan, Guangdong Province will also continue to operate and serve the China market.
Last year, Innolux shipped 1.8 million TV sets and is expected to sell 6 million this year, accounting for 2.5 percent of the worldwide market. The company is hoping to rise from being the 15th best-selling TV maker in the world to the top 10.
Founded in 2003, Innolux employs 62,000 workers worldwide, and half of them are based in Taiwan, according to its official website, although it has delved into automated production in recent years. The company produces a full range of large/medium/small sizes of LCD panels and touch-control screens.
