Hitachi public-private partnership to upgrade hard drive production lines in Thailand
By Jon Fernquest
Hitachi
corporation of Japan is one of the world's leading hard disk
drive (HDD)
manufacturers.Hitachi is joining with the Thai government in a project to upgrade the skills and capabilities of Thailand's hard disk industry.
When businesses joins with government on projects like this is called a "public-private partnership" (Read a recent article).
These partnerships will be part of Thailand's fiscal stimulus II that is starting soon (Read yesterday's article).
Today's article extract begins after the vocabulary (full article here):
hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk
- the part of a computer where data and information is
stored (See Wikipedia)
private public partnership (PPP) - a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies (See Wikipedia)
fiscal stimulus - temporary government spending programmes and tax cuts to the get the economy moving and growing again
upgrade - improving (and replacing old system with new latest system)
production lines, assembly lines - a line of workers in a factory that fit parts together to build a product
capabilities - abilities to do different things, to get different jobs done
private public partnership (PPP) - a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies (See Wikipedia)
fiscal stimulus - temporary government spending programmes and tax cuts to the get the economy moving and growing again
upgrade - improving (and replacing old system with new latest system)
production lines, assembly lines - a line of workers in a factory that fit parts together to build a product
capabilities - abilities to do different things, to get different jobs done
Thailand ups the ante on HDDs
World leader to increase production of hard disksDON SAMBANDARAKSA
16/09/2009
...Hitachi GST is upgrading two of its four 1.8 HDD production lines to make new 2.5 drives as trends in demand shift to consumer electronics and even HDDs in the automotive sector. One line has been dismantled and sent to Singapore while the other is being retrofitted at Suranaree University of Technology at the cost of some 17 million baht.
Initially, Hitachi GST was reluctant to save a few million baht, given the extra risk of trying something new and groundbreaking, but further negotiation and the offer of a research grant to subsidise the project from Nectec, the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre, coupled with a local Hitachi GST management to reduce costs, eager to source locallychanged their minds...
ups the ante - try
to get higher profit from higher risk
Hitachi GST (Global Storage Technologies) - the part of Hitachi corporation that produces hard disk drives and other storage devices (See Wikipedia)
trends - gradual change or movement in a certain direction over time
demand - the amount of a product or service that consumers want or need
trends in demand shift - the movement over time changes direction
consumer electronics - electronics devices used in the home (microwave, TV, DVD player, etc)
dismantle - take apart (remove the parts from a machine so that it no longer exists)
retrofitted - to improve by adding new parts, equipment or features (retrofit a machine or building, for example)
reluctant to do Y - does not really want to do Y (but might do it anyway)
groundbreaking - done for the first time, pioneering
negotiation - discussions to try to reach an agreement (each gives up something to make the other side happy = compromises)
research grant - money given to a professor or research group to do resaerch
subsidise Y - pay part of the costs of Y
Nectec (National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre) - a Thai government organisation for research and development in computing, software and telecommunications (See website and Wikipedia)
X coupled with Y - X combined with Y, X and Y joined together
eager to do Y - want to do Y very much
source - get a product from somewhere
source locally - get a product from local businesses
changed their minds - change their opinions and views
Hitachi GST (Global Storage Technologies) - the part of Hitachi corporation that produces hard disk drives and other storage devices (See Wikipedia)
trends - gradual change or movement in a certain direction over time
demand - the amount of a product or service that consumers want or need
trends in demand shift - the movement over time changes direction
consumer electronics - electronics devices used in the home (microwave, TV, DVD player, etc)
dismantle - take apart (remove the parts from a machine so that it no longer exists)
retrofitted - to improve by adding new parts, equipment or features (retrofit a machine or building, for example)
reluctant to do Y - does not really want to do Y (but might do it anyway)
groundbreaking - done for the first time, pioneering
negotiation - discussions to try to reach an agreement (each gives up something to make the other side happy = compromises)
research grant - money given to a professor or research group to do resaerch
subsidise Y - pay part of the costs of Y
Nectec (National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre) - a Thai government organisation for research and development in computing, software and telecommunications (See website and Wikipedia)
X coupled with Y - X combined with Y, X and Y joined together
eager to do Y - want to do Y very much
source - get a product from somewhere
source locally - get a product from local businesses
changed their minds - change their opinions and views
Aside from the size, the main difference between the 1.8" drive and the 2.5" is that the 2.5 has two platters. This means two new machines for the old 12-step process, adding a hyper-balancing to tune the vibrations and a new pivot cover part.
Another difference is that with more heads, the head stack assembly is now more complex and shipped with protection that needs to be removed.
Hitachi GST provides the drawings of what is needed, but much of the software and programming of the tools has to be engineered locally.
Capacity is expected to be at 600 drives an hour once the system has been installed at the factory at Prachin Buri and Konthorn said he and his team are trying to ensure the Thai-designed production line operates faster than the one done in Singapore...
Earlier, Professor Dr Prasart Suebka, Rector of Suranaree University of Technology, said that Nectec funding has provided places for 8 undergraduates, 19 masters and one doctorate student and three full-time research staff...
Nectec Director Dr Pansak Siriruchatapong spoke of the HDD industry's importance to Thailand, which makes 40 percent of the world's drives, worth 500 billion baht annually. Today the challenge is not just to maintain number one status, but to engage in high-tech research and move up the value chain... [Read the rest of the article here]
a platter -
something that has the shape of a plate
hyper - more than usual or normal
tune (verb) - to make small changes to something so that it works better
vibrations (noun) - shaking
heads, disk drive heads - the part of a hard disk that reads the data stored on the disk
drawings, plans - the pcitures that show how to build of make something
capacity - the greatest goods that a factory can produce if all machines are being used
maintain number one status - continue being the best (number one)
engage in Y - do activity Y
value chain - the series of steps or stages in producing a product and getting it to consumers (design, manufacture, distribution, support)
move up the value chain - move to producing the more complicated parts of a product that add more value and which have a higher profit (only final assembly of parts made elsewhere is low on the value chain)
hyper - more than usual or normal
tune (verb) - to make small changes to something so that it works better
vibrations (noun) - shaking
heads, disk drive heads - the part of a hard disk that reads the data stored on the disk
drawings, plans - the pcitures that show how to build of make something
capacity - the greatest goods that a factory can produce if all machines are being used
maintain number one status - continue being the best (number one)
engage in Y - do activity Y
value chain - the series of steps or stages in producing a product and getting it to consumers (design, manufacture, distribution, support)
move up the value chain - move to producing the more complicated parts of a product that add more value and which have a higher profit (only final assembly of parts made elsewhere is low on the value chain)
(Source: Thailand ups the ante on HDDs: World leader to increase production of hard disks, DON SAMBANDARAKSA
16/09/2009, link)
