Hard disk drive and components manufacturer Hitachi Global Storage Technologies is targeting a 400-percent increase in production at its plant in Laguna province, near Manila, this year, country president Truan Tran said in an interview.

“Last year we produced 70 million pieces,” he said. “This year, the number is about 280 million, next year it will be close to 400 million. Right now, we are making one million per day, so that is almost 300 million for the year.”

But Tran said the facility was aiming for not only bigger production but also further improvement in product quality.

The facility’s hard disk drives power MP3 players, personal media players and portable storage products. It also produces HDD components such as sliders and magnetic heads

“We are focusing on value-added engineering so we need research and development to provide more sophisticated technologies for consumer products,” he said.

Hitachi GST is thus investing $70 million to $80 million this year to fund research and development, as well as manufacturing innovation.

The company’s investments in previous years focused on manufacturing. Recently, the focus shifted to research and development because it wants the Laguna facility to support technology research for GST worldwide, Tran said.

“We are moving beyond simple production, we are adding more intellectual capital,” he said.

Hitachi GST recently donated $3 million worth of laboratory equipment to the Ateneo de Manila University and the University of the Philippines to aid engineering and science programs. The donation forms part of Hitachi GST’s program to spur hard disk drive research and development.

Pantelis Alexopoulos, Hitachi GST vice president and general manager for its head business group, said Hitachi was looking forward to future engineers and scientists that would be produced by universities in the Philippines.

“Hitachi has been manufacturing hard drives and component technology in the Philippines for more than 10 years now, and we continue to be impressed by its highly skilled workforce. We recognize the tremendous potential of these future scientists and engineers, which is why we are investing in developing and recruiting local talent,” he said.