Sony’s New BRAVIA LCD TV Factory in Nitra, Slovakia, Starts Mass Production

The
newly opened Nitra factory, which employs state-of-the-art equipment and
focuses on production of large-size, high-end LCD TV sets, will operate as
Sony’s main LCD TV factory for the European market together with the Barcelona
factory, in Spain. In 2008, production capacity of the

Nitra site will reach 3 million LCD TV sets
per year with approximately 3,000 employees.

In
order to meet the rapidly increasing demand for LCD TVs in Europe, last
November Sony commenced construction of its new factory in

Nitra,
Slovakia,
located 40 km east of Trnava, where Sony has been producing LCD TVs since
February 2006. In August 2007, the

Nitra
site began producing a limited number of BRAVIA LCD TVs. It was completed this
month and started mass production. Production lines that currently operate in
the Trnava factory are scheduled to be relocated to the

Nitra site early next year. By the end of
2008, the

Nitra
factory will have a production capacity of 3 million LCD TV sets per year and
around 3,000 employees. After the transfer of the LCD TV production lines from
Trnava to
Nitra, Sony will run two factories in
Europe producing LCD TVs – in
Nitra and in

Barcelona,
Spain.
The

Nitra
factory will make a full use of its state-of-the-art equipment to focus mainly
on large-size, high-end Bravia LCD TV sets.

Meanwhile,
following the transition of the LCD TV production lines to

Nitra, the Trnava factory will continue
producing tuners for the BRAVIA LCD TVs and providing technical support for the
PlayStation products.

“The
European LCD TV market is the largest of its kind and has a significant growth
trend. To be successful for us means to be really flexible and fast. Sony’s
factory in

Nitra
is the first new production site since the emergence of the LCD TV era. It
plays a strategic role with regard to our production capacity, but also acts as
a supply base with innovative operations,” said Takeshi Fukuda, the
Corporate Executive of the TV Group.

“Our
target is to achieve the leading and stable position on the LCD TVs market. In
addition to our production plans, we take effort to be a responsible and
reliable partner to our employees, as well as to the entire

Nitra region. That is why we improve the work
conditions and protect the environment at all times,” stated Hajime
Ushida, the managing director of Sony

Slovakia. “Apart from regular
projects aimed at energy savings, such as using motion sensors for lights, we
also use free cooling system, a highly efficient cooler and compressor, or
reuse waste heat from boiler economizer. Moreover, in the entire production we
also utilize many environmentally friendly machines and work on several green
projects,” added Hajime Ushida.

The

Nitra factory:

Managing
Director: Hajime Ushida

Completion
of the factory: October 2007

Land size:
approx. 400,000 m2

Building
expanse: approx. 60,000 m2

Investment:
EUR 73 million (110 Oku yen)

Password must contain the following:

A lowercase letter

A capital (uppercase) letter

A number

Minimum 8 characters

;
SVGLogoHR_NOTAG-200

The Latest in Sports Video Production & Technology
in Your Inbox for FREE

Daily Email Newsletters Monday - Friday