[Photo/WeChat account of Optics Valley of China]

The Wuhan manufacturing center of TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co Ltd is located in the East Lake High-tech Development Zone -- also known as Optics Valley of China -- in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province. The manufacturing center includes two production lines for providing panels and modules of TV as well as mobile products.

The production lines in Optics Valley are t3 -- Generation 6 LTPS (Low Temperature Polysilicon) Display Production Line and t4 -- Generation 6 Flexible LTPS-AMOLED Display Panel Production Line.

According to Li Dongsheng, the chairman of TCL, in the past year, the research and development investment of Wuhan has reached 1.27 billion yuan ($179 million). With more than 3,000 R & D personnel, it has been the top enterprise in Central China's Hubei province for four consecutive years in terms of the total number of patent applications for inventions.

On the first day of 2020, the generation 6 flexible AMOLED production line of the Wuhan manufacturing center began to ramp up to mass production. The t4 production line at the center is the first similar production line focusing on folding display screens in China. The company has increased its investment from 35 billion yuan to 39 billion yuan.

Another t3 production line has also attracted an investment of more than 1 billion yuan. In the future, the company plans to construct the next flexible production line in Wuhan.

At the same time, the second and third phases of the t4 production line will be accelerated. In July this year, the necessary equipment will arrive in Wuhan. By the end of this year, equipment for the third phase will be installed in the plant and it will ramp up production capacity in the second half of next year.

During the COVID-19 epidemic, the t3 and t4 production lines operated as usual. Since the end of March, their output has gradually increased. Over the past few months, the manufacturing center hired more than 2,000 new employees and it currently has 14,000 employees.

In April, sales of the Wuhan t4 production line's products -- the flexible LTPS-AMOLED display panel -- exceeded expectations. Li said there were also key international customers who sent emails praising both the company and the Wuhan factories for supporting the global industry supply chain during the novel coronavirus epidemic.