Showa Denko K.K. (SDK) to Start Production of 2.5-Inch, 100 GB HD Media Using Perpendicular Magnetic Recording Technology.

Tokyo, Japan, June 22, 2006 - (JCN Newswire) - Showa Denko  K.K. (SDK) will start commercial production of 2.5-inch hard disk (HD) media with storage capacity of 100 gigabytes per disk in the third quarter of this year, using the innovative perpendicular magnetic recording technology. The disks will have recording density of 178.8 gigabits per square inch, the highest recording density in the world. In June 2005, SDK became the world's first company to use the perpendicular magnetic recording technology on a commercial scale when it started production of 1.89-inch HD media based on the technology.

Demand for HD media is growing rapidly for such consumer electronics applications as HDD recorders and mobile music players. Furthermore, there is an increasing demand for notebook PCs with large-capacity HDDs to enable the storage and editing of pictures recorded from TV programs or taken with video cameras. The new 2.5-inch HD media to be produced by SDK will be used mainly in such notebook PCs. An HDD containing two SDK disks will have a total capacity of 200 gigabytes.

With the spread of digital terrestrial broadcasting and provision of moving pictures via the Internet, there will be a growing demand for mobile music players and cellular phones having the capability to handle moving pictures. SDK will continue to meet customer requirements by further developing advanced HD media, including the world's smallest 0.85-inch disk based on the perpendicular magnetic recording technology, and expanding production capacity in a timely manner.

Reference:

Compared with the conventional technology that stores magnetic data on a horizontal plane of the HD media, the latest technology of SDK enables vertical magnetic recording. This enables a dramatic increase in recording density, at a time when the conventional technology is now reaching its limit in terms of recording density.

About Showa Denko K.K.

Showa Denko, 'SDK' (TSE: 4004)(US: SHWDF) is a major manufacturer and marketer of chemical products serving a wide range of fields ranging from heavy industry to the electronic and computer industries. SDK makes petrochemicals (ethylene, propylene), aluminum products (ingots, rods) electronic equipment (hard disks for computers), and inorganic materials (ceramics, carbons). The company has overseas operations and a joint venture with Netherlands-based Montell and Nippon Petrochemicals to make and market polypropylenes. In March 2001, SDK merged with Showa Denko Aluminum Corporation to strengthen the high-value-added fabricated aluminum products operations, and is today developing next-generation optical communications-use wafers. For more information, please visit www.sdk.co.jp.

Source: Showa Denko K.K.

Contact:

Showa Denko K.K.
IR & PR Office
Phone: [phone]

Copyright [c] 2006 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Japan Corporate News Network K.K.