HARD disk drive manufacturer and data storage company Western Digital has been recognised as the latest entrant to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Lighthouse Network.
The WEF Global Lighthouse Network is a community of world-leading manufacturers that have succeeded in the adaptation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0) technologies at scale to drive financial and operational impacts by transforming factories, value chains and business models.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said Western Digital was the first company to receive this distinction in Malaysia out of the 90 total sites (companies) within the Lighthouse Network.
He commended the company on its achievement.
“The recognition is a great testament to Western Digital as it serves as a yardstick for future-proof strategies.
“Western Digital has also demonstrated that by embracing the IR4.0-driven transformation, companies can discover a triple win situation in which they can enhance operational performance, enjoy cost improvement and fulfil environmental stewardship commitment.
“After all, the significant advancements in IR4.0 technology have enabled businesses to be placed at new heights, with solutions that not only boost productivity but also ensure sustainability.
“We are also on our journey to a new age of manufacturing where automation, smart and digitalisation gradually become the key components of the production chain.
“Thus, I believe Western Digital’s achievement can definitely inspire more creations and adoptions of sustainable and efficient practices across all industries in the future.
“And on behalf of the Penang government, I would like to congratulate Western Digital for such an impressive achievement,” Chow said in his speech during his working visit to the company today.
Also present were Chief Minister of Penang’s special investment adviser Datuk Seri Lee Kah Choon, InvestPenang chief executive officer Datuk Loo Lee Lian, Western Digital Batu Kawan senior vice-president of global flash back-end operations K.L. Bock and Western Digital Batu Kawan vice-president of global flash back-end operations and SDSM site general manager Viswanath Ramaswamy.
Chow said that Penang, being a key pillar of the nationwide economy, pledged to play a catalytic role in the IR4.0 transformation process, and strived to make quantum leaps forward.
“Western Digital’s principle and practices are also in tandem with the Penang2030 vision of a Family-Focused Green and Smart State that Inspires the Nation. The state advocates ‘invest in the built environment to improve resilience’ and ‘advanced readiness of manufacturing industries for the digital age and the green economy’,” he added.
Viswanath said the ‘lights out’ automation process in its Batu Kawan factory was a leading factor which enabled Western Digital’s admission into the prestigious WEF Global Lighthouse Network.
“Our team sought to automate operations with the use of advanced analytics and the application of proprietary artificial intelligent solutions to enable a lights-out manufacturing operation.
“We also partnered with some of our strategic partners within our tech ecosystem to deliver the solutions.
“And we were indeed successful – with the automation of production and logistics to achieve 32 percent factory cost improvement, the reduction of product inventory and order lead time by 50 percent, and 360 percent increase in labour productivity,” said Viswanath.
Meanwhile, Bock said the company was willing and happy to work with other manufacturing firms to raise awareness of the application of IR4.0 technological innovations to transform the manufacturing industry in Penang and throughout the country.
On a separate note, Chow said that the industrial land in Batu Kawan Industrial Park (BKIP) and Batu Kawan Industrial Park 2 (BKIP2) in Byram were sufficient at the moment to cater for the needs of the state in many years to come.
“We will focus on these two places to spur investments in the state while we work on the implementation of the Penang South Reclamation Project (PSR) project, which is a long-term project.
“For those (companies) who are interested to invest in Batu Kawan, they can reach out to InvestPenang and Penang Development Corporation (PDC),” he added.
Story by Riadz Akmal
Pix and video by Ahmad Adil Muhamad