Thailand's hard drive
industry back on track
Toshiba's new investment in Fujitsu acquisition
By Jon Fernquest 
Companies
are starting to gear up for future production. This is a good sign that the economic downturn has bottomed out and the end may be near in sight.
Toshiba - a large
Japanese
company, most important businesses are in Electronic devices and
components, consumer products and infrastructure, the company's
semiconductors are
among the top 20 semiconductor sales leaders worldwide, the world's
fifth largest personal computer manufacturer after Hewlett-Packard and
Dell of the US, Acer of Taiwan and Lenovo of China and US (See Wikipedia)
Fujitsu - a Japanese company specializing in semiconductors, air conditioners, computers (supercomputers, personal computers, servers), and telecommunications, internationally its main competitor is IBM, historical rival in Japan is NEC (See Wikipedia)
back on track - when you start to go in right direction again, after a period of going in the wrong direction
acquisition - the buying of another company by a company
gear up - preparing to do an activity (getting the machines ready to do it)
a good sign - an event that shows that good things will happen in the future
bottomed out - reached the bottom already, now will start to increase and grow again
the end is near in sight - you can see the end in the near future
Fujitsu - a Japanese company specializing in semiconductors, air conditioners, computers (supercomputers, personal computers, servers), and telecommunications, internationally its main competitor is IBM, historical rival in Japan is NEC (See Wikipedia)
back on track - when you start to go in right direction again, after a period of going in the wrong direction
acquisition - the buying of another company by a company
gear up - preparing to do an activity (getting the machines ready to do it)
a good sign - an event that shows that good things will happen in the future
bottomed out - reached the bottom already, now will start to increase and grow again
the end is near in sight - you can see the end in the near future
Toshiba picks Thailand as HDD hub after buyout
NAREERAT WIRIYAPONGJapan’s Toshiba Corp will develop Thailand as a hard disk drive (HDD) manufacturing centre to complement its production base in China, following the company’s recent acquisition of Fujitsu’s HDD business.
a buyout - when
control of a company is gained by buying stock shares
hard disk drive (HDD) - the part of a computer where data and information is stored (See Wikipedia)
X complements Y - X combined with Y increases value, a useful or attractive combination
production base - the main center for manufacturing a company's products
hard disk drive (HDD) - the part of a computer where data and information is stored (See Wikipedia)
X complements Y - X combined with Y increases value, a useful or attractive combination
production base - the main center for manufacturing a company's products
The decision has reassured about 4,000 staff at Fujitsu (Thailand) about their job security after their Japanese employer left the loss-making hard drive business and sold its global operations to Toshiba early this year.
About 2,000 employees quit at Fujitsu’s Pathum Thani factories during a period of uncertainty about the Thai unit’s future after the acquisition, said an executive of Fujitsu (Thailand).
‘‘We took a deep breath after the official decision was announced and all the staff were informed promptly,’’ he said.
reassured -
increased confidence , makes them believe in it more
staff - people who work for a company or organisation
job security - protection from job loss
loss-making business - a business that is losing money, an unprofitable business
global operations - the activities of the business around the world
uncertainty about X - people do not know what X's future situation will be like
executive - the highest level managers in a company
took a deep breath - feel good, relieved (they were waiting for an event, but the event turned out good for them)
promptly - quickly without delay
inform - tell people about what happened, report new information to people who don't know about it yet
informed promptly - tell them quickly, report the information to them quickly
staff - people who work for a company or organisation
job security - protection from job loss
loss-making business - a business that is losing money, an unprofitable business
global operations - the activities of the business around the world
uncertainty about X - people do not know what X's future situation will be like
executive - the highest level managers in a company
took a deep breath - feel good, relieved (they were waiting for an event, but the event turned out good for them)
promptly - quickly without delay
inform - tell people about what happened, report new information to people who don't know about it yet
informed promptly - tell them quickly, report the information to them quickly
Toshiba ranks fourth globally in the HDD business, after Seagate, Western Digital (WD) and Hitachi Global Storage Technology (HGST).
Seagate, WD and HGST also cut jobs in Thailand as the global industry was hit badly by recession. But last month WD and Hitachi started hiring back people in response to recovering demand from abroad.
The executive, who declined to be named, said Fujitsu’s three factories in Navanakorn Industrial Estate were currently running at 60-70% of maximum capacity, producing 1.8 million HDD units per month.
Capacity utilisation has increased from less than 50% in the first quarter as foreign orders surged with improving margins, he said.
Fujitsu (Thailand) has been operating for 20 years, producing 2.5-inch HDDs for markets in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America.
ranks fourth globally
- fourth biggest in the world
recover - when the situation improves, gets better
recovering demand from abroad - when foreigners want to buy export products again
who declined to be named - give information, but want to keep name private
capacity, production capacity - the largest amount that can be produced from a factory or plant
capacity utilisation, utilisation rate - the percentage of full capacity that is used, for a machine, equipment, or a factory
run at maximum capacity, full capacity, run at full capacity - when the factory is producing the largest amount that can be produced (given current facilities, machines, and equipment)
factories running at 60-70% of maximum capacity - only 60-70% of the largest possible amount (capacity) is being produced at the factories
margin, profit margin - the profit of a company expressed as a percentage of sales
improving margins - improving profits (as a percentage of sales)
recover - when the situation improves, gets better
recovering demand from abroad - when foreigners want to buy export products again
who declined to be named - give information, but want to keep name private
capacity, production capacity - the largest amount that can be produced from a factory or plant
capacity utilisation, utilisation rate - the percentage of full capacity that is used, for a machine, equipment, or a factory
run at maximum capacity, full capacity, run at full capacity - when the factory is producing the largest amount that can be produced (given current facilities, machines, and equipment)
factories running at 60-70% of maximum capacity - only 60-70% of the largest possible amount (capacity) is being produced at the factories
margin, profit margin - the profit of a company expressed as a percentage of sales
improving margins - improving profits (as a percentage of sales)
From next year, the Thai unit will produce hard drives under the Toshiba brand. The Japanese parent will definitely inject fresh capital to upgrade machinery and install new equipment at Thai plants but the exact amount has yet to be concluded, said the executive.
‘‘By next year, we are targeting that production will be back to normal, when we run the factory at 80% of capacity,’’ he said.
produce under the Toshiba brand
- produce hard drives that will be sold with Toshiba name
capital - money invested in a business
inject fresh capital - invest new money in a business
upgrade machinery - improve machinery, replace old machinery with new machinery
has yet to be concluded - they have not decided yet
back to normal - the situation went from good to bad, but now has returned to good
capital - money invested in a business
inject fresh capital - invest new money in a business
upgrade machinery - improve machinery, replace old machinery with new machinery
has yet to be concluded - they have not decided yet
back to normal - the situation went from good to bad, but now has returned to good
The global research company IDC reports preliminary findings that the AsiaPacific PC market excluding Japan slid 5% year-on-year in the first quarter. But sales of laptops in key markets such as China, Hong Kong and Taiwan were strong, lifting the segment with 12% annualised growth.
‘‘Even though the quarter was soft, it was reassuring to see regional markets hold up to forecasts, especially compared with a dismal quarter like the last quarter of 2008,’’ said IDC.
But the research company added that the market outlook remains uncertain. The economy is still showing mixed signals, and recent political instability in markets including Thailand has created further unpredictability.
Exports to Western Europe held up well, sliding only 0.5% last quarter. The desktop market in the Middle East region reported the lowest drop while notebook sales stayed up, with strong growth for laptops in Africa. Toshiba recorded another solid quarter with the strongest growth among the top five PC vendors.
IDC - a for-profit
company that publishes research reports on the IT industry (See website and about
IDC)
preliminary - not final, temporary
findings - statements about a situation made after research
preliminary findings -
year-on-year - the percentage change in a monthly (or quarterly) value this year compared to the same month (quarter) last year
a quarter - three months of the year (an accounting period for collecting and reporting a company's financial data)
the first quarter - the three months January, February, and March; the beginning of the year
slid 5% year-on-year in the first quarter - decreased by 5% in the first quarter compared to last year (not the previous quarter)
key markets - important markets
segment, market segment - a market with well-defined customers and needs
annualised - calculated for the period of a year using statistics (figures, numbers) for a shorter period such as a quarter or half year
annualised growth - growth for the whole year calculated from just one quarter
lifting the segment with 12% annualised growth - sales in this market improved with a projected growth rate of 12% for the year
the quarter was soft - demand was low during the quarter, sales and revenue low
reassuring - increases confidence, makes you believe the future will be good
a forecast - what experts believe will happen in the future
hold up to forecasts - the forecast becomes true, what is forecast actually happens in the future
a dismal quarter - a very bad quarter
preliminary - not final, temporary
findings - statements about a situation made after research
preliminary findings -
year-on-year - the percentage change in a monthly (or quarterly) value this year compared to the same month (quarter) last year
a quarter - three months of the year (an accounting period for collecting and reporting a company's financial data)
the first quarter - the three months January, February, and March; the beginning of the year
slid 5% year-on-year in the first quarter - decreased by 5% in the first quarter compared to last year (not the previous quarter)
key markets - important markets
segment, market segment - a market with well-defined customers and needs
annualised - calculated for the period of a year using statistics (figures, numbers) for a shorter period such as a quarter or half year
annualised growth - growth for the whole year calculated from just one quarter
lifting the segment with 12% annualised growth - sales in this market improved with a projected growth rate of 12% for the year
the quarter was soft - demand was low during the quarter, sales and revenue low
reassuring - increases confidence, makes you believe the future will be good
a forecast - what experts believe will happen in the future
hold up to forecasts - the forecast becomes true, what is forecast actually happens in the future
a dismal quarter - a very bad quarter
But the research company added that the market outlook remains uncertain. The economy is still showing mixed signals, and recent political instability in markets including Thailand has created further unpredictability.
Exports to Western Europe held up well, sliding only 0.5% last quarter. The desktop market in the Middle East region reported the lowest drop while notebook sales stayed up, with strong growth for laptops in Africa. Toshiba recorded another solid quarter with the strongest growth among the top five PC vendors.
the outlook - what
people believe will happen in the future (whether the situation will
get better or worse)
market outlook remains uncertain - people are not sure whether the situation will get better or worse
economy is still showing mixed signals - some economic statistics show future improvement in the economy, others do not show this
unpredictability - do not know for sure what is going to happen next
held up well - didn't decline as much as expected
desktop market - the market for big computers that sit on a person's desk
notebook, laptops - two different for small portable computers (See Wikipedia)
market outlook remains uncertain - people are not sure whether the situation will get better or worse
economy is still showing mixed signals - some economic statistics show future improvement in the economy, others do not show this
unpredictability - do not know for sure what is going to happen next
held up well - didn't decline as much as expected
desktop market - the market for big computers that sit on a person's desk
notebook, laptops - two different for small portable computers (See Wikipedia)
