Plextor LLC, a leading supplier of optical disk drives (ODDs) that belongs to Japanese electronics giant Shinano Kenshi, said on Tuesday that it would not exit the market of optical disk drives, despite of announcement by its parent company. The firm, however, did not say whether it will continue to manufacture its drives on its own, or would outsource production to third parties. As reported, Shinano Kenshi is planning a serious reorganization of its domestic business, including layoffs. As a part of the reorganization, the production of optical disk drives (ODDs) will be reduced to "10% of the peak production levels" and the company will concentrate its business on industrial equipment and the Plextalk digital sound recording playback equipment for blind, according to reports, which spurred widespread belief that Plextor will also exit the market of ODDs. However, according to a statement released by the company, the firm will stay in the business.
"This announcement by Shinano Kenshi will have no material affect on the operations of Plextor LLC, as we already completed a corporate reorganization in North and South America last year. Our business will continue as usual," said Toru Nakazawa, president of Plextor LLC, USA.