Toshiba Semiconductor Thailand back in business

Responding to increased demand for discrete components, Toshiba Semiconductor Thailand (TST) has begun shipping products manufactured at its facility in Bangkadi Industrial Park, Pathum Thani. Production began early November and will continue until TST moves to its new factory in Prachinburi, which is situated outside the country's major flood plain.

TST's Bangkadi plant was completely submerged during last year's catastrophic floods, damaging assembly lines and shutting operations. (See Thai floods drown electronics sector.)

Assembly and packaging of the small signal devices and photocouplers the facility handled was transferred to other Toshiba facilities in Japan and Malaysia, and also outsourced as a means to respond to changes in demand. In April this year, TST decided to move its operations to the 304 Industrial Park in Prachinburi. (See Toshiba to relocate Thai assembly plant.)

Toshiba utilised the natural disaster insurance it received to install highly efficient packaging equipment at TST Bangkadi, all of which will be transferred to the Prachinburi facility following the start of operation there in spring 2013.

Toshiba Group is optimising the logistics and production of the back-end processes - assembly and packaging - of its discrete devices business by promoting overseas deployment especially in regions like Southeast Asia. This strategy is expected to boost the long-term vitality and earning power of the business.