History (1991): Seagate Builds New Thin-Film Head Plant in Malaysia

Seagate Technology (Scotts, Valley, CA) will invest $7.8 million to build a new manufacturing plant in Penang, Malaysia, for thin-film recording heads.

Completed in 1Q92, the facility will be Seagate’s second manufacturing site in Malaysia. The plant will have an initial workforce of 100, expected to reach 2,000 within a year.

The company’s existing facility, also in Penang, employs 1,500 and has been engaged in the assembly and testing of thin-film recording heads since its establishment in 1988.

“Seagate’s expanding production of thin-film heads will allow us to avoid industry-wide shortages of this vital component”, said Brenda Hegarty, Seagate’s SVP and CTO.

Precision machining of thin-film recording heads is also carried out by Seagate’s Minnesota-based operations

The new plant will be located adjacent to the Penang free trade zone and near Seagate’s existing operation.

This article is an abstract of news published on the former paper version of Computer Data Storage Newsletter on issue ≠42, published on July 1991.

Note: Seagate shuts down Malaysian plant in 2001