Drive makers demand action
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Two foreign manufacturers of hard-disk drives (HDDs), Minibea and Western Digital, are pressing for flood-protection action after suffering severely from last year's inundation.
Though praising Thailand for its potential, they fear that another disaster may occur and this would dent investor confidence.
Yoshihisa Kainuma, president and chief executive officer of Minebea Company of Japan, one of the world’s leading HDD makers, said yesterday that the company was still confident about investing and expanding in Thailand even though its two plants here were swamped.
“However, I’m still concerned that there should be no more floods in the future. The company appreciates the Thai government’s plan for flood-prevention measures and we highly rely on the government’s gesture,” he said.
But the company is not only relying on the government’s prevention plan: It has also come up with its own measures to ensure there “will be no single drop of water” flowing into its plants.
Minebea recently established a US$75-million (Bt2.4 billion) factory in Bangpa-in Industrial Estate to focus on value-added production. It also set up a $25-million plant in Cambodia for mainly labour-intensive manufacturing and assembling.
In his special address at the CEO Forum at the BOI Fair, John Coyne, president and CEO of US-based Western Digital Corp, did not hide his frustration at the disastrous flood in Thailand, which submerged the company’s facilities here.
He said it was a must for Thailand to come up with some flood-protection milestones quickly.
“To go from here, we have to ensure that no wounds are inflicted in 2012,” he told the audience.
To become a leading HDD maker in the world, a predictable, reliable and consistent supply of products is key. Yet the floods in October prevented the company from satisfying customers in this regard.
The government must keep its promises and the necessary elements will likely be in place in the short term to ensure success in the future, Coyne said.
Western Digital reportedly supplies 60 per cent of its products to customers around the world from facilities in Thailand and Malaysia.
