Hard-disk glass substrate manufacturer Hoya Corp. has announced that it plans to invest about JPY 13 billion to construct a glass substrates factory, possibly in Vietnam, to keep up with growing deman…
Hard-disk glass substrate manufacturer Hoya Corp. has announced that it plans to invest about JPY 13 billion to construct a glass substrates factory, possibly in Vietnam, to keep up with growing demand for PCS. Hoya has a market share for hard-disk glass substrates of about 70%. The substrates are manufactured at the company“s factories in Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, and have a monthly output capacity of just over 25 million units. The new factory, which is expected to be built in Vietnam, is scheduled to start operating in the first part of 2011, and will boost the firm“s output capacity by just over 30%. Hard-disk glass substrates are used in a wide range of portable devices, including notebook computers, due to their stronger resistance to vibration and shock than aluminium substrates. Hoya had considered expanding its factory in the Vietnamese city of Hanoi to anticipate supply shortages due to the growing popularity of netbooks and other low-priced notebooks, but these plans were abandoned due to the global financial crisis. The company has now decided to build a new factory because it believes that demand will surpass supply even in 2010 once the global economy rebounds.