Document: Precise Map to Understand Consequences of Thai Flood on HDDs

We come back to Thai flood because we got an excellent document below coming from Western Digital. This precise map of Thailand shows in light blue color exactly which part of the country suffered from the disaster.

  (Source; WD)

Among the HDD manufacturers, WD was largely the most affected company. Seagate’s plant in Korat and Hitachi GST’s facilities in Prachin Buri and Chon Buri on the East are not in the flood zone but were only affected by the shortage of components coming from firms producing them in the devastated part of Thailand, like Minebea, NHK, Nidec, etc.

The two WD’s plants on the map, in Bangpa In and Navanakorn, include the Toshiba one in Pathumtani that WD acquired, following the recommendation of the regulatory body of the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (Mofcom). At this time, WD has not decided if it will keep this factory or just transfer it to another facility as Toshiba, on its side, has decided to close it.

Tim Leyden, WD’s COO, said yesterday in an EMEA press conference in Wien, Austria, that there is a lot of progress on flood recovery efforts: "We are now capable of adequately meeting anticipated customer demand in the current quarter and beyond. We are well on our way back to full health."

Here is a another WD’s document
with the calendar of the event for the company:  

• October 10, 2011: Production suspended
• October 16, 2011: Factories inundated
• November 12, 2011: Floods begin to recede; Bangpa In decontamination begins
• November 30, 2011: HDD production restarts and first drive built 46 days after flood
• December 9, 2011: Navanakorn decontamination begins
• January 13, 2012: Slider fab restarts
• January 23, 2012: First new slider produced
• April 26, 2012: Capability to meet demand

Read also:
Thailand Floods to Significantly Impact HDD Industry
For WD only: primary manufacturing site inundated, second site at risk