Sharp Launches Production of Large-Screen LCD TVs at its Kameyama Plant

LAS VEGAS, January 8, 2004 - Sharp Corporation has completed its Kameyama Plant in Kameyama City, Mie Prefecture, and will begin start-to-finish production of large-screen LCD TVs this January. This plant will utilize large-format 1,500 x 1,800-mm mother glass substrates, a world first^*1, as the basis of a highly efficient integrated production process, from fabrication of LCD panels to final assembly, to supply large-screen LCD TVs with high-quality pictures and sound.

The Kameyama Plant is an innovative, state-of-the-art, vertically integrated facility designed to streamline and enhance material flow, production and inspection/testing processes, and will bring together in a single operation Sharp’s proprietary LCD and video imaging technologies developed over long years of experience in these fields. The goal is to boost production efficiency, and further enhance the upward spiral effect resulting from the synergistic interplay of core devices and end-user products.

In addition, demand for large-screen LCD TVs has been growing with a momentum exceeding initial expectations, leading to a tight supply situation for LCD panels for TVs. In this light, in August of this year, we will install a second production line for large-format LCDs within the Kameyama Plant to further expand production capacity, roughly doubling our substrate input capacity compared to when the plant initially comes on-line in January 2004. This enhanced capacity will enable Sharp to construct a stable supply framework to meet burgeoning demand for LCD panels for TVs.

^*1 As of January 2004; for operating production lines.

• Location: 464 Kougawa, Shiraki-cho, Kameyama City, Mie Prefecture
• Site area: Approx. 330,000 m2
• Total floor area: Approx. 243,800 m2
• Construction type: Steel-reinforced concrete, five floors (frontage: approx. 280 m; depth: approx. 320 m)
• Buildings: Large LCD plant, large LCD TV plant, administration building, etc.
• Total investment: Approx. 100 billion yen (including land, buildings, production equipment for first and second production lines)
• Employees & staff: Approx. 1,000 (as of January 2004) Large LCD Panel Plant
• Total floor area: Approx. 117,700 m2
• Mother glass size: 1,500 x 1,800 mm (yield: twelve 26-inch wide-format panels per substrate)
• Substrate input: 15,000 panels per month (equivalent to 180,000 26-inch wide-format LCD modules per month)
• 27,000 panels per month with start-up of second production line in August 2004 equivalent to 324,000 26-inch wide-format LCD modules per month) Large LCD TV Plant
• Total floor area: Approx. 77,200 m2
• Products: Large-screen LCD TVs (25 inches and larger)
• Production capacity: 100,000 units per month

Sharp Electronics Corporation is the Mahwah, N.J.-based marketing and sales subsidiary of Japan’s Sharp Corporation, a worldwide developer of the core technologies that are integral to shaping the next generation of home entertainment products, appliances, networked, multi-functional office solutions and mobile communication and information tools. Leading brands include AQUOS™ Liquid Crystal Televisions, 1-Bit™ audio products, the SharpVision® line of projection products, Viewcam® camcorders, Sharp Carousel® microwaves, Imager™ digital multi-functional systems, the Notevision® line of multi-media projectors, and the Zaurus™ Personal Mobile Tool. Sharp Electronics Corporation employs approximately 2,000 people throughout the U.S. supporting more than 50 product lines.