Toshiba and Western Digital open new fab in Japan

Construction of New Fab 2 began in September 2014 and, following partial completion of the facility in October 2015, Toshiba and SanDisk (acquired in May 2016 by Western Digital) worked together to implement  manufacturing capabilities for the mass production of 3D flash memory. First-phase production started in March of this year. 

In addition, Yokkaichi operations will leverage the site-wide integrated production system, which employs big data processing to analyse over 1.6 billion data points each day, to further improve manufacturing efficiency and the quality of 3D flash memory.

Satoshi Tsunakawa, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation, said “Advanced technologies underline our commitment to respond to continued demand as an innovator in flash memory. We are enhancing manufacturing efficiency and the quality of our world-class facility. Building on that, we also plan investments of as much as 860 billion yen by FY2018, in line with market situation. Our commitment is firm, and we are confident that our joint venture with Western Digital will produce cost competitive next generation memories at Yokkaichi.”

Steve Milligan, Chief Executive Officer of Western Digital, said, “As a leader in non-volatile memory products and solutions, we are excited to be entering the 3D NAND era with our partner Toshiba. The New Fab 2 enables us to begin the conversion of our existing 2D NAND capacity to 3D NAND and continues our long-standing presence in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, and Japan.”