Technical Insight
Sharp builds new laser plant in Hiroshima (News from Japan)
Sharp is to spend 18.7 billion ($154 million) on a new factory that will make semiconductor lasers for use in CD and DVD players and in data storage units for personal computers. Construction of the 14 000 m2 plant in Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture, will begin in June, and production is due to start in September next year. It will have an initial monthly output of 5 million units, and a maximum capacity of 14 million units per month. Sharp currently produces 1.4 million semiconductor lasers per month at a plant in Nara Prefecture. The company also plans to invest an additional 12 billion by the end of 2005 to build a second factory on an adjacent site in Mihara. Sharp is expanding its output despite a 30% fall, to 180200, in the price of lasers for DVD players. The company aims for almost 60 billion in sales from its semiconductor laser division in the year ending 31 March 2001, and hopes to expand the figure to 100 billion by fiscal 2005.
