Epson to Construct New Plant in the Philippines

Increased capacity for projectors and inkjet printers

TOKYO, Japan, Seiko Epson Corporation (“Epson”, TSE: 6724) today declared its commitment to the Philippines by announcing it would build a new projector and inkjet printer manufacturing plant in the country. Epson will construct the new plant next to an existing inkjet printer facility at Epson Precision (Philippines) Inc., located in Lipa City. Full-scale production at the new plant is scheduled to begin in October 2011.

Both projectors and inkjet printers are core, high-potential markets for Epson. The projector market in particular has been growing as a result of increased applications in enterprise and education, and expanding demand in emerging economies. Taking advantage of the key high-temperature polysilicon TFT LCD panels that it manufactures in-house, Epson is keen to boost projector sales by strengthening its lineup of models for use in educational institutions and offices worldwide, and of high-brightness units in the 5,000-lumen and above class. Epson is also expecting to see growth in inkjet printers for enterprise applications and emerging economies.

Against this background, Epson has decided to increase its manufacturing capacity by constructing the new plant in the Philippines. Building on the existing facilities and infrastructure at Epson Precision (Philippines), the plant will be supported by the technical expertise of the superb local workforce.

The new plant will be constructed on land adjacent to the existing plant and will include new state-of-the-art projector production facilities. By FY2012 (year ending March 31, 2013), Epson anticipates building up the plant to an annual projector production capacity of one million units and doubling the present annual inkjet printer capacity to approximately six million units. Total investment in this project will come to approximately US$110 million by the end of FY2012, and the number of employees will be increased from the present 2,300 to approximately 6,000 in the same period.

“We are delighted to announce our plans for a new plant in the Philippines,” said Tadaaki Hagata, director of Seiko Epson, and chief operating officer of its Imaging Products Operations Segment. “We took this decision because of the excellent and ongoing support we have received from PEZA and other government authorities, and also because of the fantastic local labor force. Epson is confident that the new plant will help us better provide market-leading products and services to satisfy our customers worldwide.”

Epson has positioned both inkjet printers and projectors as core businesses in its SE15 Long-Range Corporate Vision. The new plant in the Philippines will play an important role in achieving this vision by providing the manufacturing capacity that will allow Epson to return to a growth path by helping the company to supply high-quality products to its customers.
Background information
Outline of the new plant
Name Epson Precision (Philippines) Inc.
Address Lima Technology Center, Lipa City, Batangas, 4217, Philippines
Total investment Approx. US$110 million by FY2012 (buildings, production equipment, molds, etc.)
Business lines Manufacture of projectors, inkjet printers
Manufacturing start October 2011 (planned)
Area Approx 38,000 m2
Outline of Epson Precision (Philippines) Inc.
Name Epson Precision (Philippines) Inc.
Address

* Lipa Plant (printer production)
Lima Technology Center, Lipa City, Batangas, 4217, Philippines
* Laguna Plant (warehouse)
Lot 1, Blk. 3, Phase 5, Ampere St. Light Industry and Science Park 1,
Bo. Diezmo, Cabuyao, Laguna, 4025, Philippines

President Osamu Koshiishi
Established December 27, 1994
No. of employees Approx. 3,700
Area Site 173,200 m2, buildings 44,385 m2
(Lipa: Total site 130,000 m2, buildings 36,000 m2)
Reference 100% subsidiary of Seiko Epson Corp.

About Epson
Epson is a global imaging and innovation leader that is dedicated to exceeding the vision of customers worldwide through its compact, energy-saving, high-precision technologies, with a product lineup ranging from printers and 3LCD projectors for business and the home, to electronic and crystal devices.

Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises nearly 80,000 employees in 102 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and the communities in which it operates.
http://global.epson.com/