With Sanyo, Sony and Hitachi manufacturing most of the world's Blu-ray pick-up heads (PUHs), many smaller companies have been faced with ongoing shortages. To boost the supply, optical drive manufacturers from Taiwan and Japan have joined together to open their own Blu-ray PUH facility in the Central Taiwan Science Park. According to the Taiwan Economic News, the facility will eventally have 15 production lines, capable of producing 18 million pick-up heads a year.
Seven manufacturers of optic-disc drives from Taiwan and Japan yesterday announced their plan to open 15 lines for Blu-ray optical pickup unit production in the Central Taiwan Science Park at a cost of NT$2.5 billion (US$75 million at US$1:NT$33).
The seven manufacturers include Forward Electronics Co., Ltd. (Taiwan), Genius Electronic Optical Co., Ltd. (Taiwan), Tera Autotech Corp., Inc. (Taiwan), Sunext Technology Co., Ltd. (Taiwan), and TDK-owned SAE Magnetic Ltd. (Japan).
The seven firms vow to set up the 15 production lines in three stages, with the first going from 2009 through 2011, the second ending in 2012 and the third ending in 2013. The production lines are designed to have maximum output of 18 million pickup heads a year.
