Taiwan-based backlight-unit suppliers Kenmos Technology, Coretronic, and Chi Lin Technology are expected to see their plants in Ningbo, China, benefit from Chi Mei Optoelectronics' (CMO's) decision to expand its LCD module (LCM) plant in the same area, industry and company sources said.

CMO last week announced a plan to invest US$30 million in Ningbo Chi Mei Electronics with a goal to increase the China subsidiary's LCM monthly capacity to six million units.

Kenmos, Coretronic and Chi Lin are ramping up BLU production at their Ningbo plants in support of CMO's expansion, the sources noted.

Kenmos already started production in July 2006 at its US$7.2 million BLU plant, with an initial monthly capacity equivalent to 500,000 BLUs for 17-inch monitor panels, the sources pointed out.

Kenmos' Ningbo plant currently chiefly outputs BLUs for 13.3-inch notebook panels, 19-inch and 22-inch widescreen monitor panels.The plant may also start making BLUs for TV panels, depending on demand from CMO's Ningbo subsidiary.

Coretronic has been shipping BLUs from its Suzhou, China plant in support of the CMO plant, but this month the BLU maker started test production at its Ningbo plant, and will ramp up production gradually in the future.

Chi Lin's Ningbo subsidiary, which has started volume production, supplies all of its BLUs to CMO's LCM plant in Ningbo. The Chi Lin plant's initial monthly capacity totals 200,000-300,000 units, chiefly catering to 17- and 19-inch monitor panels, the sources said, adding it may add TV-use BLUs to its production in the future.

Radiant Opto-Electronics currently does not have a BLU plant in Ningbo, but it will not rule out setting up one there in the future, the sources revealed. Radiant currently ships BLUs to the CMO Ningbo plant from its facilities in Wujiang, China.