Last week Oki Electric Industrial Co Ltd announced that it would be increasing output of 4M-bit memory chips by 16% over the next one to two months, to a total production of 3.5m parts per month. The two plants involved are those of Miyazaki Oki Electric on the southern island of Kyushu and the Miyagi Oki Electric plant in northern Japan. Both plants have just moved to a 0.6 micron manufacturing process. Oki Electric’s production revenues for semiconductors and electronic components is approximately $1,440m, accounting for about 40% of its total business. The company also announced last week that it was expanding its production of printers outside Japan. The manufacture of developer units for its light-emitting diode printers will be moved to Thailand, while manufacture of some toner cartridges will be moved to the US and the UK, where Oki Data Group and Oki UK Ltd already make printer consumables and the printers themselves, respectively. The new locations are expected to manufacture products with a combined value of some $19m.
