Toshiba has expanded its manufacturing capacity at the Laguna Technopark facility in the Philippines. The company installed new production lines to support the assembly of nearline hard drives, with initial shipments already underway. These lines are designed to facilitate the production of next-generation M12-series drives, which utilize microwave-assisted magnetic recording technology and feature up to 11 platters to exceed 30TB capacities.
The company is integrating automation into cleanroom operations and inspection processes. This initiative is expected to reduce labor requirements by 40% while improving overall manufacturing yields. This project marks Toshiba's first major investment in HDD production infrastructure in approximately five years, driven by high demand for nearline storage from the artificial intelligence sector.
Toshiba's long-term roadmap includes the introduction of 40TB-class drives with 12 platters by 2027. Looking further ahead, the company plans to initiate volume production of 65TB-class hard drives around 2030, with 100TB-class models planned for the future. These developments aim to support the storage needs of large-scale data centers and AI infrastructure.
Currently, Toshiba holds approximately 10% of the market share by exabytes shipped. Through the expansion of production capacity and the rollout of higher-capacity drives, the company targets a 30% market share in the medium term. This strategy follows recent periods where the company sold out its entire output of 24TB CMR and 28TB SMR drives.
