Date: 23/12/2011

Slew of steps taken by Rohm to recover fast from Thailand floods

Japan headquartered semiconductor manufacturer ROHM has announced it will resume full-scale production of all products affected by the flooding in Thailand on January 1, 2012.

The release states due to the effects of flooding in the country, the company had been forced to halt production of ICs, transistors, diodes, resistors, and tantalum capacitors (all five products it manufactures in Thailand) at LAPIS Semiconductor (Ayutthaya) Co., Ltd., in Rojana Industrial Park in Ayutthaya on October 8, and then at ROHM Integrated Systems (Thailand) Co., Ltd., in Navanakom Industrial Park in Pathumthani on October 15. ROHM has been working since to resume operations at both facilities.

ROHM also said it has made a series of emergency investments to dramatically boost production capacity at other Group manufacturing facilities such as ROHM Electronics Philippines, Inc., enabling the manufacturer to secure sufficient supply to fulfill orders from customers, including contract manufacturing volume.

Rohm has began making arrangements to continue production at alternate sites such as LAPIS Semiconductor Miyazaki Co., Ltd., in the city of Miyazaki in Japan's Miyazaki Prefecture in the event of a recurrence at its Thailand LAPIS facility which may be prone recurrence.

The ROHM said it also sought to restructure its supply chain, for example by obtaining approval from customers for plant changes and other adjustments, in order to smooth alternate production at other facilities should such steps become necessary in the future. As a result of these efforts, ROHM says its production operations will reach normal supply volume on January 1.

The company is also working to build safety inventory so that it can fulfill emergency orders and meet other needs from customers. It plans to resume normal operations, including inventory, in February.

The release also states resumption of full-scale production is not expected to have a significant effect on the financial outlook for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, as announced on November 9.