Sumitomo to close factory

Sumitomo to close factory

TOKYO (DPA): Japan's Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. said
Thursday it will withdraw from making electronic parts in the
Philippines because dwindling demand has made the operation
unprofitable.

The steel-maker that has diversified into the field of
electronic parts said the production line at the Philippine
factory for manufacturing plastic package for MPUs
(microprocessing units) was halted Oct. 15.

Sumitomo Metal Electronics Devices Incorporation, a subsidiary
of the company, set up the factory in Batangas Province, south of
Manila, in June last year.

The factory, with some 200 employees, had the capacity of
making one million units a month.