A subsidiary of Japan“s optical glass manufacturer Hoya Corporation opened its S$ 140 million glass disk media plant in Singapore last December, according to the local Economic Development Board.
Th…
A subsidiary of Japan“s optical glass manufacturer Hoya Corporation opened its S$ 140 million glass disk media plant in Singapore last December, according to the local Economic Development Board. The subsidiary, disk media maker Hoya Magnetics, expects the facility to be in full production by next year, with sales forecast at S$ 200 million, the Economic Development Board reported. The Singapore plant is expected to be the centre of Hoya“s glass memory disk production. Said to be the fastest growing segment of the disk drive market, glass disk media is used in notebook computers. Glass magnetic memory disks are said to have a smoother surface, and to be more durable and shock-resistant than conventional aluminium disks. They are more compact and have a greater memory capacity. Hoya Corporation“s sales of glass magnetic memory disks increased 70% in its last financial year, reflecting the move away from aluminium disks, according to the report. Dr. Shoichi Harada, executive managing director of Hoya Corporation, was quoted as saying that the Singapore plant will be the centre of Hoya“s glass memory disk production. It will serve the increasing number of hard disk drive makers which are shifting their production bases to South-east Asia, he said. Hoya is also collaborating with IBM to develop the next generation of hard disk glass media and part of the developmental work planned is expected to be carried out in Singapore.