Seoul, South Korea — Samsung Electronics and Sony said Monday they will add an additional eighth-generation amorphous TFT-LCD manufacturing line (8-2 line) at their joint venture S-LCD plant at its Tangjeong Complex.

The S-LCD plant was established in April 2004, and began seventh-generation output in April 2005. It added its first eighth-generation line in August 2007, manufacturing and supplying TFT-LCD panels to both companies.

Samsung and Sony said they decided to increase capacity of eighth-generation panels to meet the increase in world demand for LCD televisions. The total investment for the expansion is estimated at $1.8 billion.

Production is expected to begin at the line in the second quarter of 2009, beginning with 60,000 sheets of substrate glass input per month.