| May 20, 2002 |
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| Olympus Gears up Digital Camera Production in China |
Expansions in Shenzhen and Pan Yu boost efficiency.
Magneto-optical drive production in China also starts up. |
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| Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (President: Tsuyoshi Kikukawa) is pleased to announce substantial increases to its digital camera manufacturing capacity in China. The company will mainly expand the digital camera lens production capacity in its Shenzhen Plant in Shenzhen, GuangDong and will build a new assembly factory on land adjacent to its Pan Yu Factory in Guangzhou, GuangDong. The new capacity will accelerate digital camera production in China. Olympus plans for both facilities to be on line in this October, which will give it the capacity to produce approximately 1 million digital cameras in China during fiscal 2002. The company will also be starting up a new production line at its Pan Yu Factory that will produce approximately 50,000 magneto-optical drives (MOs) a month. Olympus expects these accelerations of Chinese operations in consumer goods like digital cameras and MOs to improve the profit structure of its Imaging Systems Group. |
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| Olympus has a long track record in film camera business and has embarked on a new strategic concept of "creation" and "manufacturing" that will divide functions between Japan and China. Japan will be responsible for "creative" aspects such as the advancement of innovative manufacturing technologies and production management techniques. China will have the role of mass production with high-quality and low-cost factories. The expansions to its plants in Shenzhen and Pan Yu will give Olympus a full-fledged digital camera production system in China. Within this "manufacturing" structure, the Shenzhen Plant will be responsible for high value-added parts that require advanced technologies and skills, including lenses, lens frames and molds. The Pan Yu Factory will draw on its advantageous labor costs to handle more process-intensive assembly work. The combined strengths of the two factories will produce an efficient production system. |
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| MOs were moved from the Industrial Systems Group to the Imaging Systems Group in April. The Pan Yu Factory will begin production this month with an initial capacity of approximately 50,000 units per month. |
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| Outline of new capacity at Shenzhen Plant |
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Total floor space: 5,295 square meters |
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Production starts: October 2002 |
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Products: Lenses for cameras (digital, film) |
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Capacity: 52 million lenses per year |
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Investment: 330 million yen |
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| Outline of new capacity at Pan Yu Factory |
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Total floor space: 17,240 square meters |
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Production starts: October 2002 |
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Products: Cameras (film, digital), recorders (microcassette tape, IC), microcassette tapes, MOs |
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Capacity: 5 million cameras (film, digital), 1.3 million recorders (microcassette tape, IC), 600,000 MOs,1.2 million microcassette tapes per year |
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Investment: 150 million yen |
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| About Olympus (Shenzhen) Industrial Ltd. (As of May 2002) |
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| Establishment: |
December 1991 |
| Location: |
Nantou 5th Industrial District, Nanshan, Shenzhen, GuangDong, P.R.C |
| Representative: |
Hiroshi Komiya |
| Employees: |
3800 |
| Operations began: |
March 1992 |
| Products: |
Film cameras, digital cameras, and camera parts (lenses/plastic parts) |
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| About Pan Yu Factory (As of May 2002) |
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| Company Name: |
Olympus Beijing Industry & Technology Limited |
| Establishment: |
July 2001 |
| Location: |
Cai Bian Er Cun, Pan Yu Qu, GuangZhou Shi, GuangDong, P.R.C. |
| Representative: |
Katsuhiko Inadomi |
| Employees: |
2500 |
| Operations began: |
July 2001 |
| Products: |
Film cameras, recorders (microcassette tape, IC), microcassette tapes, MOs |
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*Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. was changed to OLYMPUS CORPORATION as of October 1, 2003.
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