Taiyo Yuden Co., Ltd. will expand its production capacity for making DVD-Rs (recordable digital video discs) by the spring to 4 million per month to meet demand for discs capable of high-speed recording, the company announced on Dec. 24. The firm initially planned to boost monthly production levels to 1.8 million discs by the end of fiscal 2002, but that number has now been raised to 4 million per month.

A facility currently making CD-Rs (recordable compact discs) will be converted for DVD-R production by the spring. Taiyo Yuden currently has the capacity to produce 60 million CD-Rs a month and plans to maintain that level even after the conversion through raising productivity.

Since an existing facility will be used for DVD-R production, a capital investment of 400 million to 500 million yen will be sufficient for the conversion, according to company officials.