AVX in the UK, part of Kyocera Corp, has approved plans to expand the capacity of its Tantalum capacitor plant in Lanskroun in the Czech Republic, in a move that will double its investment in the country to $60m from $30m in the next two years. AVX Lanskroun currently produces nearly 27% of the world’s Tantalum capacitors, most of which are used in computer and mobile telephone equipment. Customers of the Czech branch of the company include IBM Corp, Seagate Technology Inc, Apple Computer Inc, Digital Equipment Corp and Sun Microsystems Inc. AVX transferred production from Bavaria to the Czech Republic in the early 1990s – shipping over all of its machinery to the new plant – primarily in order to take advantage of lower labour costs and the opportunity to circumvent Bavaria’s tough laws relating to working hours. Since the move, AVX has increased production by 50%, mainly by introducing 12-hour shifts and running the plant 24-hours a day, seven days a week. The Lanskroun plant employs more than 1,000 Czechs.
