Precision motor manufacturer Nidec Corp. said Wednesday it will set up a wholly owned subsidiary in China to make and sell spindle motors for hard disk drives.
Nidec (Zhejiang) Corp., to be set up in Zhejiang Province on April 1 with initial capitalization of $20 million, will start production Oct. 1.
Nidec said it will use the company to produce a fluid dynamic bearing type of spindle motor, which is becoming more popular than the ball-bearing motor type.
The company currently manufactures spindle motors at four plants in Thailand, two in the Philippines and one in Singapore.
Nidec said it plans to invest $200 million in the move, with an initial investment of $30 million.
The new subsidiary's sales target is 5 billion yen in the 2002 business year, 20 billion yen in 2003 and 40 billion yen in 2004.
Its initial workforce of 2,000 will be expanded up to 10,000 in line with increased production, the company said.