CMC Magnetics Purchases Taiyo Yuden Technology

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Dear Valued Customer,

We are very happy to announce that late last summer CMC Magnetics purchased the technology and manufacturing license for Taiyo Yuden optical media products like CD-R, DVD-R, DVD+R, and BD-25 disc media.

This past June, JVC/Taiyo Yuden made the announcement that they will be stopping production of all optical disc media products at the end of 2015 and making a complete withdrawal from the market. JVC/TY’s withdrawal left a huge void in the professional media market and CMC quickly seized the opportunity to purchase the technology and fill that void. CMC Magnetics has committed to produce all current JVC SKUs and maintain the unmatched quality and consistency the professional market demands. With the help of the Taiyo Yuden engineers, CMC has built specialized, dedicated production lines using the exact same processes, raw materials and strict quality control measures to ensure the TY CD and DVD media quality is maintained.

Techware Distribution will be distributing the full line of new CMC made products. In an effort to make the conversion to the CMC products as seamless as possible, Techware has purchased a significant amount of the current JVC product (made in Japan) to ensure product is available well into 2016. We understand that there will be some skepticism in the market as to whether or not TY’s quality can be reproduced. Based on our testing and frequent updates from CMC Magnetics, we are extremely confident that the new media will perform to TY’s high standards.

The CMC made products will be branded as “CMC Pro” and all cartons will be labeled “Powered by TY Technology”. Part numbers for the CMC Pro products will be very similar to the existing JVC part numbers. All current JVC part numbers start with “J” and the new SKUs will be exactly the same except they will start with “T”.

Example:1b92567c-74d0-425c-9397-bffad81f7ab9
JVC SKU:             JCDR-ZZ-SB
CMC Pro SKU:   TCDR-ZZ-SB

This should make the transition much easier than a complete new part number strategy. Product labels will use the same format that is currently being used.

Packaging will also be very similar. CMC will use the same stretch-wrap as the current JVC products, however the cakeboxes used will be slightly different. Cartons will be double-walled corrugated cardboard and will be even more durable than the current JVC cartons.

JVC Disc Production Rumors?

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JVC-spindleJVC / Taiyo Yuden announced back in June of this year that they would halt all CD and DVD disc manufacturing by the end of 2015. This was a shock to many users, but not a huge surprise to industry insiders.

Fast forward 3 months and what do we know? Not much other than JVC is set to deliver massive amounts of discs to North American warehouses with the intent of support existing customers well into 2016.

But what is going on behind the scenes?? We can only speculate on industry rumors. Here are some guesses:

  1. Is a competitor negotiating for the rights, patents, IP, formulas for the recoding layers and print surfaces? Could make sense for a manufacturer like CMC, Ritek, Verbatim or MBI.
  2. Does Microboards, largest stocking distributor in the world for JVC discs, have something up their sleeve that will keep the product line going past 2016?
  3. Will a large investor take over operations at the plant in Japan? How about the plant moved to more labor friendly country like China or Taiwan?
  4. Will enough of the last production run make it to the US to satisfy customers?

Your guess is as good as ours. Stay tuned as there will be some clarity soon.

Need help with any CD, DVD, Blu-ray USB thumb drive, SD card or Compact Flash duplication and printing? Let us know. Maybe your vendor has dropped the ball, maybe they are out of business. Either way we are here to help.

Good Demand, Increased Prices Make CD / DVD Recordable Discs a Sellers Market

Thanks to higher demand, profit margins for optical disc makers have increased so far in 2011. CD-R and DVD-r disc prices are expected to rise by 20% in the second half of this year, according to CMC Magnetics chairman Robert Wong, quoted in CENS.com

Ritek, another major optical disc maker in Taiwan, also says that disc prices have been rising this year due to rising material prices. CD-r and DVD-r disc prices are expected to rise further in the third quarter.

Wong said that many Chinese and Taiwanese optical disc makers have been withdrawing from the business, while some Japanese (JVC / Taiyo Yuden) disc makers also stopped production after the massive earthquake in March.

CMC has raised all its disc prices by an average 30% since March.

The supply shortage of CD-R discs has pushed up prices by about 40% since early this year, the first since 2009, Wong said, pointing out that the optical-disc sector has turned into a sellers’ market, a move that will benefit CMC’s future operation.

“Flooding orders are filling production lines throughout the year-end. Fourth quarter operations will turn profitable.”

This is big news for CD-r and DVD-r disc manufacturers like CMC which have posted losses the past couple of years.