Compact disc firm to expand in Ireland

CMC Magnetics, a Taiwanese compact disc manufacturer, has decided to expand its Irish operation following an European Commission decision to impose stiff penalties against Taiwanese firms products when they are imported to Europe.

CMC plans to transfer all production of rewritable compact discs for the European market to its two facilities in the Republic and the UK to avoid the penalties. This will almost certainly increase jobs at the firm's Limerick subsidiary MC Infonic Ireland, which currently employs 120 staff.

CMC bought the Limerick plant last year from Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation in anticipation of the imposition of stiff penalty levies from the Commission.

The Commission announced its decision to impose levies of up to 39.5 per cent on almost all Taiwan's indigenous rewritable compact disc manufacturers on December 17th.

It took the action after a seven-month investigation into dumping or below-cost selling by Taiwanese manufacturers.

The commission imposed strict penalty levies on several Taiwanese firms which should result in higher prices for recordable compact disc products in the European Union within a few months.

CMC received the stiffest penalty levy of 39.5 per cent because it refused to co-operate with its enquiry. However, because it has already established European plants it can avoid the levies.

A CMC spokeswoman said yesterday the imposition of anti-dumping taxes on rewritable compact discs coming from Taiwan caused serious problems for the nation's export business. But she said this was a positive for CMC because it had plants in Ireland and the UK which would expand to support all European users directly.

The commission also imposed a levy of 18.8 per cent on Ritek Corporation, which has a subsidiary operation in Northern Ireland called Multimedia Info-tech.

The decision to impose levies on Taiwan's compact disc manufacturers is likely to result in higher prices for the product throughout the European Union. This will help a third Irish-based manufacturer of the product.

Mr Greg Glenn, managing director of Masushita Media Manufacturing Ireland in Youghal, which employs 260 staff, said the imposition of penalties was good news for its Irish operation.

"We've been running on half capacity throughout the year because the price in the marketplace was just putting too much pressure on us," he said.