WD makes 'significant' progress on hard drives post-flooding
updated 07:15 pm EST, Mon January 23, 2012
WD says expects pre-flood capacity by September
In announcing its latest financial results which showed net income of $145 million, Western Digital has offered an update on its ‘significant’ progress in restoring manufacturing capacity and supply following the Thai floods. The major hard drive manufacturer says that is continuing to ramp production in Thailand and had resumed slider production, which had been suspended since October 10.The company now believes its manufacturing capacity will be back to pre-flood capabilities in the quarter ending September 2012.
"We have made substantial progress in restoring WD's manufacturing capabilities in the aftermath of the historic flooding in Thailand, and this is reflected... in the resumption of our operations there," said John Coyne, President and WD CEO.
"While much work remains to be done over the next several quarters to reach our pre-flood manufacturing capabilities, the progress thus far is significantly ahead of our original expectations," he added.
As recently as October, WD had warned of long-term hard drive shortages following the Thai floods, which not only took a devastating human toll, but affected the supply of essential electronics componentary world-wide. Around 25 percent of the world’s hard drives are manufactured in Thailand with knock-on effects of the shortage experienced by PC manufacturers and Apple.
