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WDC » Topics » Our head manufacturing operations may result in additional costs and risks to our business.

This excerpt taken from the WDC 10-K filed Nov 20, 2006.
Our head manufacturing operations may result in additional costs and risks to our business.
 
Our vertical integration of head manufacturing resulted in a fundamental change in our operating structure, as we now manufacture heads for use in many of the hard drives we manufacture. Consequently, we make more capital investments than we would if we were not vertically integrated and carry a higher percentage of fixed costs than assumed in our prior financial business model. If the overall level of production decreases for any reason, and we are unable to reduce our fixed costs to match sales, our head manufacturing assets may face under-utilization that may impact our results of operations. We are therefore subject to additional risks related to overall asset utilization, including the need to operate at high levels of utilization to drive competitive costs, and the need for assured supply of components, especially hard drive media, that is optimized to work with our heads.
 
In addition, we may incur additional risks, including:
 
  •  insufficient head sources if we are unable to manufacture a sufficient supply of heads to satisfy our needs;
 
  •  third party head suppliers may not continue to do business with us or may not do business with us on the same terms and conditions we have previously enjoyed;
 
  •  claims that our manufacturing of heads may infringe certain intellectual property rights of other companies; and
 
  •  difficulties locating suitable manufacturing equipment for our head manufacturing processes and replacement parts for such equipment.
 
If we do not adequately address the challenges related to our head manufacturing operations, our ongoing operations could be disrupted, resulting in a decrease in our revenue or profit margins and negatively impacting our operating results.


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