In a view to meet the rising demand for optical films for liquid crystal display (LCD) TV in Europe, Nitto Denko Corp., Japanese manufacturer of optical films for LCD such as polarizers, retardation films and polarizers with brightness-enhancing film, has opened a production subsidiary in Brno, in Czech Republic. The construction of the plant will start in May 2007 and is due to be ended in March 2008. “It is no surprise that the global demand for LCD-TVs is moving on a path of continued expansion, with the projection for 2008 approaching 100 million units,” stated Nitto Denko. “Given such a situation, LCD-TV makers are increasingly locating their production sites in , Europe and North America, in order to meet the globally soaring demand for large-screen LCD-TVs.” Nitto Denko (Osaka, ) said it has entered into a preliminary agreement with the city of Brno for securing necessary land in Central Trade Park, where the company will build the plant for back-end processing of optical films. The new plant, claimed Nitto Denko, will have such a setup that it will be able to run the finishing process of optical films for large-screen LCD-TVs. Meanwhile, the plant will be equipped with the latest processing and inspection technologies. Nitto Denko said the total investment would amount to about $25 million, in the first phase. The site should count approximately 80 people.