June 15, 2012. LCD panel makers including Samsung Electronics Co., LG Electronics Inc. and Foxconn Technology Co. may convert factories to produce thin-film solar panels when demand more than triples for electricity produced from sunlight, Manz AG said. The companies can introduce thin-film technology to their glass-manufacturing lines and produce modules at about 30 cents a watt or less, according to Dieter Manz, Manz's chief executive officer. The Reutlingen, Germany-based company makes machines that produce flat-panel displays and solar products. Developers installed about 30 gigawatts of solar panels worldwide in 2011, and Manz said the market will be big enough to attract LCD companies when it reaches 100 gigawatts a year. A high-volume LCD factory may be converted to a thin-film solar plant with about 5 gigawatts of annual production capacity.