Sumitomo Electric Industries ups production at Chinese facility

APRIL 24, 2008 -- Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. (SEI; search for Sumitomo Electric Industries) says it has expanded its optical device and optical transceiver manufacturing with the opening of Sumitomo Electric Photo-Electronics Components (Suzhou), Ltd. (SPEC) in China.

SEI says the new integrated production site in China adds 155,000 sq ft to its existing five optical component/module manufacturing plants.

The company says it has established SPEC in Suzhou, China and started production this month to achieve stable supply of fiber-optic components and modules for the global optics market corresponding to the market growth and need to satisfy worldwide customers with shorter lead time.

Initially, SPEC will produce low bit rate optical transceivers mainly for public communications and optical LAN applications. Later this year, SPEC will start the production of high bit rate transceivers. The transceivers will be marketed by ExceLight Communications (search for ExceLight) in the Americas and under the SEI brand elsewhere.

The new production capacity will offer SEI several advantages, the company believes. For example, the production of the transmitter optical sub-assembly (TOSA) and receiver optical sub-assembly (ROSA) at the upper end of the process and the assembly and inspection of the optical transceiver at final process have been conducted at separate factories in Japan. The new facility expands SEI manufacturing capabilities to deliver components and modules at one location. In addition, the additional manufacturing capabilities will enable shorter lead times to meet the demands of customers looking to reduce their inventory levels. Finally, as SEI continues production at the factories in Japan, the SPEC will increase production capacity by 50%.

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