China-based Tianma announced that it has started producing flexible AMOLED displays at its 6-Gen production line in Xiamen. This is just the first production runs, it will probably take some time for Tianma to ramp up production.
Total investment in Tianma's new fab (TM18) is estimated at $6.8 billion USD and the monthly capacity will be 48,000 6-Gen substrates. The company says that this is the largest flexible AMOLED production line in China, and it is also the largest ever investment in Xiamen's history.
Including the new line in Xiamen, Tianma has 3 AMOLED production lines - a 5.5-Gen rigid line (TM15) in Shanghai that mostly produces wearable displays and a flexible and rigid 6-Gen OLED production site (TM17) in Wuhan. The Wuhan line has a monthly capacity of 15,000 substrates and the company is now doubling the Wuhan fab capacity - although this expansion plan was reportedly delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
According to reports from Korea, Tianma planned to ship 40 million OLED panels in 2021, but the actual number is likely quite lower (it is estimated that it shipped around 10 million units in the first half of 2021). It is estimated that Tianma shipped a million panels in 2020.
