Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 15, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
To meet the rapidly rising demand for LCD televisions in Europe, Sony began construction of its new production facility in Nitra (Slovakia) last November, located 40 km east of Trnava, where Sony has been manufacturing LCD televisions since February 2006. In August 2007, the first BRAVIA LCD televisions rolled off the production line in limited numbers. The plant was completed this month and has begun mass production. The manufacturing facilities currently in operation at the plant in Trnava are to be relocated to Nitra at the beginning of next year. By the end of 2008, the plant in Nitra will have an annual production capacity of 3 million LCD televisions and employ around 3000 people. After the manufacturing facilities for LCD televisions have been relocated from Trnava to Nitra, Sony will operate two production facilities for LCD TVs in Europe – in Nitra and in
Barcelona (Spain). The plant in Nitra will make full use of its state-of-the-art production facilities and concentrate mainly on large-format BRAVIA premium televi-sions.
After the relocation of LCD TV production to Nitra, the plant in Trnava will continue to manufacture tuners for BRAVIA LCD televisions and provide technical support for PlayStation products.
“The European market for LCD televisions is the largest of all and shows a significant growth trend. Being successful means being flexible and fast for us. Sony’s plant in Nitra is the first new production facility since the beginning of the era of LCD televisions. It is of
strategic importance for our production capacity, but also functions as a supply center with innovative operating processes,” explains Takeshi Fukuda, Corporate Executive of the TV Group.
“Our goal is to achieve a leading and stable position in the LCD TV market. Alongside our production plans, we also endeavor to be a responsible and reliable partner for our employees as well as for the entire region around Nitra. We therefore constantly improve working conditions and protect the environment,” explains Hajime Ushida, managing director of Sony Slovakia. “Alongside regular energy-saving measures, such as the use of motion detectors for lighting, we also use a free cooling system, a highly efficient chiller and compressor, or use the waste heat from the boiler economizer. In addition, throughout the entire manufacturing process we use
numerous environmentally friendly machines and work on various environmental-protection projects,” added Hajime Ushida.
