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Published on April 3, 2008

Thailand Hard Disk Drive Cluster is developing a technology road map to identify potential areas in which Thailand can participate and add value to the hard disk drive (HDD) industry.

It is expected that this initiative will push local small and medium businesses to develop technology products  and become a more valuable part of the industry.

Even though Thailand is already a production base for HDDs, most of the manufacturing done in Thailand is by international companies with facilities in Thailand.

With this in mind, the cluster has a plan to increase the ratio of local content usage in the industry, from the present 9 per cent of the total production value to 15 per cent in the next five years.

"We plan to find areas for which local companies can develop products and join the chain," Chayakrit Charoensiriwath, the cluster's supply chain development manager, said.

The cluster is now working with the Institute of Field Robotics (Fibo) to identify areas of technology development. The road map is expected to completed by August.

Chayakrit said Thailand should pace into three areas including precision tooling, automation technology and indirect materials.

Precision tooling involves the development of precision parts such as the screw or the arm used for the disk head, while automation technology helps to steadily automate the production process. Indirect materials include the development of gloves, shoes or nano-clothes that will be used in the manufacturing unit's clean room.

It is estimated that the production value of hard disk drives in Thailand accounts for 2 per cent of the country's gross domestic product.

Such a huge market size can translate into a big opportunity for local businesses to participate in the value chain and draw more attention to local content.

As of now, the income generated from the HDD industry is mostly from wages earned by workers in manufacturing plants.

The cluster will work with HDD manufacturers such as Seagate and Western Digital to help Thai suppliers conform to standards whereby they can become reliable suppliers.

The plan also involves creating a showcase of success stories which other local suppliers could emulate, Chayakrit said.

"One can be certain that if Thai suppliers become part of the HDD supply chain, we will no longer have to worry about production bases shifting to other countries. This is because no matter where the production base is, manufacturers will still buy products from suppliers in the chain," he said.

The cluster will also cooperate with the Fiscal Policy Research Institute Foundation to develop a policy road map for the hard drive industry.

Pongpen Sutharoj

The Nation