Conner Peripherals Inc today steps up to confirm that it is to manufacture its 3.5 hard disk drives for the European market at a 40,000 square foot leased facility in Irvine, Scotland – and expects to announce additional plans for Scotland by the end of the year. This is not the company’s first foray into Europe – in 1988, it formed Conner Peripherals Europe as a 49%-owned joint venture with Ing C Olivetti SpA to make its drives in Ivrea (CI No 885). First product out of Scotland will be a mass-market 40Mb drive. Completion is set for April, with first product in June, and employment is to reach 250 people by the end of the year. Level of investment has not been revealed.
