MAXELL Europe expects to employ 100 people at its new £10.9 million CD ROM manufacturing plant in Finglas, Co Dublin, by the end of 1996. The plant was officially opened yesterday by the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Richard Bruton.
The 22,000 sq ft plant started production last December and now employs 40 people.
Maxell Europe is a subsidiary of Hitachi Maxell Worldwide, the Japanese producer of optical and magnetic media, batteries and electronics.
The investment in the plant "has already begun to be recouped, as all European demand of Maxell CD products is now being met through Dublin", said Mr Denis Dwyer, sales and marketing manager of Maxell Ireland.
Around 50 per cent of the plant's output is scheduled for the Irish market, with the remainder going to Britain and other European countries.
Maxell forecasts a market for 150 million CD-ROM discs in Europe this year. Phase one for the Finglas plant is 2.1 million CD's per month and the company noted that it has four acres available for expansion.
The plant, said Maxell, allows it to significantly reduce its lead time to the European market and strategically gives the company full global CD presence.
The Finglas CD plant is the company's third to be opened in the last 12 months. The others are in Japan and the US. Maxell has a worldwide employment of 5,000 people and generated sales of £1 billion in 1995.
