Hitachi absorbs IBM HDD unit in new company
Hitachi absorbs IBM HDD unit in new company
Hitachi released four new HDD products put pf its newly created hard disk drive (HDD) storage company, Global Storage Technologies, which comprises Hitachi's and IBM's HDD operations.
Hitachi agreed to acquire IBM's HDD operations in June of last year for US$2.05 billion, the deal closed on December 31. During acquisition negotiations the two companies reached agreements which covered contracts for the supply of HDDs to IBM, treatment of intellectual property and the provision of services.
The San Jose Hitachi based company staffed by 21,500 people, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, is 70 per cent owned by Hitachi and 30 per cent by IBM. However, IBM has no involvement with the management of the company, Hitachi said. Hitachi said it will assume full ownership by the end of 2005.
Hitachi hailed the new company as having the most advanced technology, the most extensive product line and the greatest global reach in the industry.
The new company has released a stream of new HDD products, including a drive for the enterprise market: the Ultrastar 15K73. This third generation enterprise HDD features a speed of 15,000 RPM (revolutions per minute) and capacity of up to 73G-byte. The drive is meant for servers and will be available in Ultra 320 SCSI and 2G bit FCAL interfaces, Hitachi said.
Hitachi expects an increase in demand for HDD for consumer electronics such as car audio and digital cameras. Further to this, Hitachi released three other HDD products: the Travelstar A4K20 - a drive specifically for the automotive industry to help with navigation applications; a 4G byte version of the 25.4 mm (1 inch) wide Microdrive - for digital cameras and digital music players; and the Travelstar Compact Series C4K40 - for use in notebooks and laptops.
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