The growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud services is bringing more work to Toshiba’s factories in the Philippines, where hard drives are made to store data used by businesses and online services.
At Laguna Technopark, Toshiba Information Equipment (Philippines) Inc. (TIP) has added production of high-capacity hard drives for data centers. These facilities house the computers and storage equipment that support AI, cloud services, and other digital activities.
“The first shipment from our expanded nearline HDD production line marks an important milestone for TIP,” said Kenichi Myokan, president and representative director, Toshiba Information Equipment (Philippines) Inc.
Nearline hard disk drives, or HDDs, are designed to hold large amounts of data in data centers. Toshiba already makes these drives at Carmelray Industrial Park and has expanded production to Laguna Technopark, which previously focused mainly on hard drives for personal computers.
The Japanese technology company confirmed the first shipment from the expanded line as TIP marked its 30th anniversary in October.
The company plans to nearly double its annual production capacity by fiscal 2027 compared with fiscal 2025. This refers to the combined amount of data the drives can store, rather than how many drives the factories produce.
According to the Department of Finance, Toshiba’s planned multibillion-peso investment over three years is expected to create around 3,000 jobs. The expansion will increase production of drives used for AI, cloud computing, and other services that need substantial storage.
TIP started operations in October 1996, making hard drives for personal computers. It now supplies storage products to customers worldwide. The company plans to hire and train engineering and technical staff to support further growth.
After three decades of making storage products, Toshiba’s Philippine factories are expanding to supply the larger hard drives needed by data centers as AI and cloud services grow around the world.