Kuraray Co. (Tokyo, Japan; www.kuraray.co.jp/en) announced its decision to expand production facilities for optical-use polyvinyl alcohol (poval) film, which serve as a base film for polarized film, an essential component of liquid crystal displays (LCDs), at its Saijo Plant (Saijo, Ehime, Japan). Kuraray will expand its annual production capacity of optical-use poval film from the current 212 million m2 to 232 million m2.
The expanded operations will commence in early 2017, according to company plans.
The global LCD market continues to steadily grow as LCD TVs and portable devices, including smartphones and tablets, become more commonplace. Under these market conditions, demand is expected to steadily expand for optical-use poval film, which serve as a base film for the polarized film that is an essential component of LCDs. Kuraray has therefore deemed it necessary to expand its production facilities to maintain a stable supply.
Moreover, to meet recent calls for thinner polarized film, the production line slated for expansion will be utilized to manufacture high quality thin-type optical-use poval film of 45 μm or less.