Mitsui Mining & Smelting to Expand ITO Output to 35t/m

Mitsui Mining & Smelting expands output capacity of indium-tin-oxide (ITO) sputtering target to about 35 tonnes per month from current 30 tonnes, when ITO demand is increasing for transparent conductive coating of flat panel display (FPD). The firm will introduce additional productive equipment by this summer and prepare for Christmas and year-end sales season.The firm produces ITO sputtering target at 2 production bases, Miike plant in Omuta City of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan and Taiwanese subsidiary, Mitsui Electronic Materials. Current output capacity is 30 tonnes per month as total of the 2 bases, while the existent plants have space for maximum 35 tonnes capacity equipment. Mitsui Mining & Smelting plans to introduce additional sintering furnaces and other equipment mainly in Taiwan where FPD manufacturers concentrate.ITO target supply is surplus against the demand recently. Higher demand was expected for wide screen television using FPD in June 2006 when Soccer World Cup was held. However, the TV shipment was slower than expected and became overstocked after June. ITO target also became overstocked. Operation rate of ITO target makers still stays at approximately 80%.The market condition forced ITO target makers to review their output plans, even though ITO shipment volume tends to increase thanks to growth in world FPD market and FPD panel size. Mitsui Mining & Smelting originally planned to expand ITO output capacity to 40 tonnes per month in 2006.