Matsuhita's reorganization

Matsuhita's reorganization

TOKYO (Dow Jones): Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. plans to reorganize and consolidate its home appliance manufacturing bases in Asia by product over the next few years to boost its competitiveness, a company spokesman said Wednesday.

Matsushita plans to strengthen its production of refrigerators in Thailand, making the Thai plant its core manufacturing base in Asia. It currently produces refrigerators in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand.

For washing machines, the company plans to consolidate production in Malaysia, while it now manufactures them in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and other nations.

Through the move, Matsushita aims to increase its annual output at the two plants to over 1 million units - as stated in its guidelines for its overseas plant reorganization, the official said.

"In addition to our efforts to seek better production efficiency, the move is prompted by the AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area) concept," he said.