Infodisk to Invest NT$10B in DVD-RAMs
<Picture>September 19, 1997 (TAIPEI) -- Taiwan's Infodisk Technology, which successfully developed the first stamper for DVD-RAM disks in Southeast Asia in September 1996, plans to become the world's largest DVD-RAM foundry maker in the future.
The company hopes to achieve this goal by investing NT$10 billion (US$350 million) over the next four years into manufacturing DVD-RAM disks that can be rewritten.
Infodisk Technology, which was established less than two years ago, has been expanding at a rapid pace.
By October, the company's monthly output of compact discs and DVD-RAM disks is expected to reach 6.5 million units.
Infodisk executives said their company will set up an additional five production lines by the end of 1997, and monthly CD and DVD-RAM production is then expected to surpass 10 million units.
At that time, Infodisk will become the second-largest disk supplier in Asia, behind Japan's Sony Corp.
Executives added that Infodisk's monthly DVD-RAM output is estimated at 2 million units in 1997, and in 1998 the figure is likely to reach 5 million units.
Infodisk executives said their company hopes to become the leading firm in the DVD-RAM foundry business, much like the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is in wafer foundries.
Optimistic about the prospects of the DVD-RAM market, Infodisk has focused on that product when purchasing disk manufacturing equipment. The company has been producing CDs with machines that originally were designed for making DVD-RAMs.
"It's like using a Rolls Royce as a taxi cab," a company executive said.
Infodisk estimates that the world's demand for DVD-RAM drives will hit 30 million units by the year 2000.
Infodisk executives said they are confident in their company's future because it has access to state-of-the-art technology. The firm has adopted equipment from the U.S.-based Sonic Solutions, UK-based Nimbus CD International Inc., Germany's Singulus, Japan's Meiki Co., Ltd. and Switzerland's Netstal. Infodisk plans to ask these companies to station engineers in Taiwan to help it catch up with the latest technology
Infodisk Technology plans to list its stock on the local over-the-counter market in August 1999.
(Commercial Times, Taiwan) |
