Thailand's Hard Disk Drive Institute is planning to help the country take a bigger share of the burgeoning hard-disk-drive (HDD) industry, which is currently worth Bt500 billion per year and is expected to grow at a rate of about 18 per cent per year.

At present, Thailand is the world's biggest manufacturer of hard-disk drives, producing 42 per cent of global supply, or 247 million units per year. Although their value is Bt500 billion, the return to the local industry is only about 1 per cent of that, or Bt5 billion.

The Hard Disk Drive Institute, which is part of the National Science and Technology Development Agency, says there are four HDD producers based in Thailand - Seagate, Fujitsu, Hitachi and Western Digital. They employ more than 100,000 people.

Director Djitt Laowattana said the institute wanted to maintain Thailand's HDD manufacturing base, but also wanted to see greater financial returns for local operators. It will promote the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) working within or related to the HDD industry, will encourage the training of human resources to serve the industry and will cooperate with an HDD manufacturer to establish a laboratory to certify standards for HDD technology.

In its promotion of SMEs, the Institute plans to create a cluster network of about 20 SMEs operating in the supply chain supporting HDD manufacturers. These SMEs will develop high standards and create value-added products, expanding their productivity as they support the growing upstream industry, Djitt said. The institute has already created about six prototypes based on HDD supply-chain business, working in automation systems and materials science. At present there are about 70 local companies with business related to the HDD industry. The institute plans that within the next five years it will create about 100 SMEs in the supply chain of Thailand's HDD industry.

Djitt said the institute was cooperating with local universities by providing a curriculum for the development of human resources for the HDD industry. It has also joined HDD manufacturers to send 14 PhD-level graduates to the United States to train in the latest HDD technologies so these can be transferred to local operators.

"We are trying to transfer technology and develop human resources to create human capital in Thailand so that this country will become a centre of HDD technology in the region. Thailand now has around 140 HDD experts and plans to develop more than 500 professionals in the near future," Djitt said.

Meanwhile, the Hard Disk Drive Institute will cooperate with manufacturer Western Digital to set up an electrostatic discharge laboratory in the form of a pilot plant at Science Park, as a testing centre and service laboratory for manufacturers.

"We are trying to focus on research and development in advanced HDD production technologies, and on developing facilities, human resources and technology capabilities to support the growth of Thailand's HDD industry. We want to maintain this country's ranking as the world's number one HDD manufacturer through the next decade," Djitt said. "The institute expects that Thailand's HDD exports will reach an annual value of Bt850 billion within the next couple years."

Nectec director Pansak Siriruchatanapong said his centre was offering support to the HDD industry in four main areas. These were developing human resources both within the industry and at universities, developing research and development and funding case studies for the industry, including the provision of 300 scholarships for students researching HDD-related technologies, helping SMEs to develop the standards required to take part in the HDD supply chain, and studying the industry's demand for human resources. Nectec has also invited international companies to invest in Thailand by expanding their businesses here - such as Hutchison Technology, which plans to spend about US$1 billion (Bt34.22 billion) to expand its business in Thailand