SPEECH BY MR LIM HNG KIANG, MINISTER FOR TRADE AND
INDUSTRY, AT THE LAUNCH OF SEAGATE’S THIRD WOODLANDS MEDIA
MANUFACTURING FACILITY AND OFFICIAL OPENING OF ITS 2ND
WOODLANDS MEDIA MANUFACTUIRNG FACILITY ON 28 SEPTEMBER 2006,
9.30AM, AT WOODLANDS AVE 7
Mr Jerry
Glembocki
Senior Vice President of Recording
Heads and Media
Operations
Ladies and
gentlemen,
Good morning. I
am glad to be here today with the world’s number one producer of
hard disk drives as you commit to your third hard disk recording
media plant in Singapore.
This is yet another demonstration of Seagate’s faith in us as well
as the continued value that you see in Singapore.
Even more cause to rejoice is that we are also
celebrating the opening of “Woodlands 2”, Seagate’s second media
manufacturing facility, where we are at right now, as well as
Seagate’s tenth year of media manufacturing operations in
Singapore. During this decade, I understand that 500 million units
of media have been produced.
If we look back, Seagate has been instrumental in
building not only our hard disk drive industry, it has also been
pivotal in developing the base of supporting industries in this
area. Today, Seagate not only carries out its manufacturing
activities here, it also carries out its R&D and headquarter
activities here.
With its
decision to concentrate three media plants in Singapore,
Seagate is once again telling the world that Singapore
has
what it takes to be its central media manufacturing hub. Seagate
will be making a multi-million dollar investment for the third
media plant alone. This will potentially result in the creation of
3,000 new jobs when the plant is fully
operational
Singapore
is
Well-Positioned to Latch onto the Growth of the Hard Disk Drive
Industry
For
Singapore,
the hard disk drive industry has always been a significant one. In
2005 alone, the industry contributed about 20%, or S$14 billion, to
the electronics output, and employed some 20,000
people.
Globally,
better times lie ahead. According to the research agency, IDC, the
hard disk drive industry is expected to grow to US$40 billion in
the year 2009, from about US$28 billion in 2005.
Singapore
is
in a very good position to latch onto this robust
growth.
How
Singapore
has
developed in this industry over the last 10 years serves as a good
preview of what is to come in the next 10 years. While
Singapore
has
built up strengths in hard disk drive manufacturing throughout the
years, it has also expanded and moved up the value chain of
activities.
Specifically in the area of R&D, companies can tap on
our pool of research talent and engineers readily and engage in
collaborative efforts with research institutes such as the Data
Storage Institute. The Data Storage Institute was established in
1992 to support the hard disk drive industry. Today, it has become
one of the top 5 research institutes in the world in the area of
storage technology. Not only does it help the industry to train the
necessary research manpower, it also works with the industry to
challenge new technology frontiers. Earlier this year, Seagate
added to the buzz by announcing a doubling of its R&D headcount
from 200 to 400 researchers.
It is also our
strong capabilities and the availability of sophisticated talent
that encourages companies to use Singapore
as
a test bed for new products. In this respect, it is no industry
secret that Seagate has been using Singapore
as
launch pad for its drives, meaning that all drives are pilot-tested
and first produced in Singapore.
Gaining Leadership in Hard Disk Media
Manufacturing
In recent
years, I am proud to say that Singapore
has
garnered a leadership position in the manufacture of hard disk
media, a key component of hard disk drives. Hard disk media is a
key component of the hard disk drive system in which data is stored
and from which it is retrieved. It involves sophisticated thin-film
deposition processes that are both capital- and
knowledge-intensive. Because of the type of capabilities
required, Singapore
is
in a good position to develop this
industry.
Besides
Seagate, which has made Singapore
their key media
production centre, Showa Denko and Hoya also have significant hard
disk media operations here. These three companies combined
practically create a new hard disk media sector in
Singapore.
In 2005, Singapore
already
accounted for 25% of the world market share for disk media. With
Seagate’s new investment into their third media plant,
Singapore’s
lead as a key manufacturing location for hard disk media globally
will widen.
The hard disk media industry is expected to create
significant employment opportunities in the years to come. Our Data
Storage Institute is well-positioned to train the necessary
manpower for this growing hard disk media
industry.
Singapore
is
committed to remaining a key player in the hard disk drive industry
and Seagate is an integral part of this journey. I am confident
that both Singapore
and
Seagate can build on our long-established partnership to forge
ahead.
In closing, please join me once again in congratulating
Seagate on this happy occasion. Thank
you.