Hutchinson Technology Asia to set up shop in RP

Minnesota-based Hutchinson Technology Asia (HTA), a top global maker of disk drive suspension assemblies, is setting up shop in the Philippines.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has already approved Hutchinson’s application to establish a representative office in the Philippines.

Based on documents filed with the SEC, the new corporation will acts as a “message center between its head office and Philippine customers and suppliers and conduct surveys and studies for the promotion and development of Philippine exports abroad.”

Hutchinson, which holds 60 percent of the worldwide market for hard disk drive suspension assemblies, has remitted $33,000 (equivalent to P1.45 million).

Listed as directors and officers of the company are Peter Carlson (president and chief executive officer), Ahmad Shalabi (vice-president), and Ruth Bauer (treasurer and chief financial officer).

Hutchinson is seeking to be the leader among all suppliers serving the disk drive market through delivery of products and services that provide the most value at the lowest total cost in the least amount of time.

Hutchinson likewise intends to enhance its value by enabling disk drive manufacturers to advance their technology and capability. “We will achieve this through cooperative product design with customers and by developing processes and product features that meet anticipated market needs,” the company said in its website.

Most personal computers contain Hutchinson’s primary product, a thin metal spring that holds the recording head in position a few millionths of an inch from the disk.

Hutchinson’s products include conventional assemblies, trace suspension assemblies, and accessories such as base plates and flexures. Customers in Asia account for more than 95 percent of total sales.

Hutchinson supplies a select number of large disk drive makers; its top five customers (TDK, Alps Electric, Western Digital, Innovex, and Seagate) account for more than 85 percent of sales.