Sony Disc Manufacturing said it will more than double its current DVD production capacity in the U.S. by September 2002. The addition of 32 new DVD replication lines, and associated mastering and packaging equipment, will begin in April 2002 at SDM's flagship facility here.
This latest expansion will increase the company's U.S. production capacity from 12.6 million to over 30 million DVDs per month. The ramp-up, Sony said, is to meet increasing customer demand for the DVD-5, DVD-10 and DVD-9 formats.
This expansion reflects Sony's commitment to the DVD marketplace," said Bob Hurley, SDM senior vice president of sales and marketing. "We know our customers need more, faster, so we're focusing extra attention on efficiencies including automated packaging solutions and integrated distribution services. |
With increased capacity strategically located in the Midwest, our customers can expect quicker overall time-to-market." DVD replication began in July 1997 at Sony's Terre Haute, IN facility, which began manufacturing CDs in 1984. Terre Haute is the second Sony facility to provide full DVD mastering and replication services, following the commencement of DVD manufacturing in January 1997 at the company's Shizuoka, Japan plant.
In addition, Sony's Austrian facility increased its capacity to approximately 100 million DVDs last year. All locations feature Sony's latest full in-line process technology and factory automation.
Sony's two other ISO-certified U.S. facilities are in Pitman, NJ and Springfield, OR.
Source: medialinenews.com
