Off Topic (sort of). Thought you folks might be interested in this summary from a Greenville SC Business news publication on Dec. 21, 1997. It is somewhat dated, but I thought it might be useful to get some insight on the competition, good luck......................
The following are excerpts from that article based on an interview with Hirokuni Watanabe, Be aware the information is based on Fuji and Morgan Stanley sources, and may not be completely accurate.
(1) Fuji currently has 1200 employees at Greenwood.
(2) Fuji is poised to make 1.6 BSF of CN Paper on this site.
(3) Fuji will make during 1998, 100 Million rolls of CN Film, only 100, and 200 speed. 400 and 800 speed will not be made on this site at this time. The article states that this volume could supply 13% of all US Market needs if US consumers buy 760 million rolls of CN film/year.
(4)Fuji has invested about $1B on this site alone, since 1988.
5) The site encompasses 2 million square feet of manufacturing space on >500 acres
(6) Fuji is calling for a ROA of 10% for this site, but analysts say this will take some time
(7) The payroll for the 1200 employees is $40 million. (Approx. $33K/employee)
(8) Production workers start at $10-12/hour, and earn about $14-15/hr after one year.
(9) Fuji says that they have 20% of the US market for 35 mm film.
(10) Up until 1997, CN film (sensitized master rolls) were shipped from Fuji's Holland plant in Tilburg, to this plant where it was slit/perforated and packaged.
(11) Fuji has built a CN coating machine on this site in 1997, and has shipped its first CN films coated on this site in December of 1997......
(12) The plant is expanding its CN paper capacity to 1.6 BSF.
(13) Fuji has upgraded single use camera manufacturing and has retooled to make a new model for retail stores.
(14) The plant is capable of producing 60,000 QuickSnap single use cameras a day. Article states they have 15% share of the US single use camera market,compared to Kodak's 70% share.
(15)The single use camera plant is 100,000 square foot in size. Operates 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, with 20 workers on each of four shifts (e.g. 80 employeees). At that rate, each worker would produce 750 camers on an 8 hour shift.
(16) There are 20 robots that handle work in process and deliver materials to the manufacturing cells of the SUC operation. A highly automated operation.
(17) In the SUC area, operators are responsible for maintenance.
(18) Article stated that at the end of 1996 Fuji had 13% of the US film market, but have increased this to about 20% by July, 1997.
(19) The plant will make 100 million rolls of CN film. Fuji or Morgan Stanley thinks that the US CN film market is approximately 770 million rolls or approximately, 335 Million SF.(FXA comments, If accurate then Fuji will need to import 54 million rolls or 27 MSF of CN Film to meet the US CN film market share of 20% stated above in item (18).
(20) Article stated that Fuji's share of the CN photopaper market has risen from 18% in December of 1996 to about 20% by July of 1997(Morgan Stanley Info).
(21) Article states (Morgan Stanley Source), that the Greenwood plant generated $1.93 Billion in revenues in the fiscal year of 1996 which ended in March 31, 1997. This is up by 40% over the 1995 fiscal year.
(22) Watanabe stated that if chemical imaging demand decreases, the Greenwood site could be used for digital imaging product manufacturing.
The competitor who consistently, reliably, and profitably provides
the greatest value to the customer first, wins! There are no other
rules! ***** Christopher Meyer in "Fast Cycle Times" ************* |
