Seagate to Strengthen Media Substrate Supply with New Plant in Johor

Seagate to Strengthen Media Substrate Supply with New Plant in Johor

Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX) today announced it is strengthening its media substrate manufacturing with a plant in Senai at Johor, Malaysia. This is Seagate’s first media substrate manufacturing facility in Asia. The plant, complemented by Seagate’s Limavady, Northern Ireland substrate facility, will supply a large portion of the company’s total requirement of aluminium substrates – the base platter on which magnetic materials used for digital storage are deposited for the manufacture of recording media used in the assembly of hard disc drives.

Seagate’s substrate facility is designed to position the company for future growth arising from an increase in market demand. The project will potentially create 2,500 new jobs when the plant is fully operational and running at maximum production capacity. Media substrate manufacturing activities are expected to start by 2008.
“Seagate’s continued growth is supported by our strategic presence in the region,” said Bill Watkins, Seagate chief executive officer. “We will work closely with the Malaysian government to leverage the established infrastructure as well as emerging pool of technological and human resources, bolstering economic growth for the country.”

In his speech YB Tan Kok Hong, chairman of Johor Exco for International Trade & Industry, Energy, Water and Telecommunication said that in the first eight months of year 2006 alone, Johor had approved 137 projects that accounted for investment of RM 3.5 billion. “The Government will focus on attracting global manufacturers such as Seagate and work jointly with them to move Johor up the value chain and increase its integration into the global supply chains.”

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