YOKKAICHI, Japan & IRVINE, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — July 14, 2016 — Toshiba Corporation (Tokyo: 6502) and Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) today celebrated the opening of the New Fab 2 semiconductor fabrication facility located in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, Japan.

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Toshiba Corporation and Western Digital Corporation cleanroom in semiconductor fabrication facility located in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, Japan. (Photo: Business Wire)

Expanded use of flash memory in smartphones, SSDs, and other applications is driving continued growth of the global flash memory market. The New Fab 2 facility will support the conversion of the companies’ 2D NAND capacity to 3D flash memory, allowing realization of solutions offering higher densities and better device performance.

Construction of New Fab 2 began in September 2014. Following partial completion of the facility in October 2015, Toshiba and SanDisk (acquired in May 2016 by Western Digital Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Western Digital Corporation) worked together to implement leading-edge manufacturing capabilities for mass production of 3D flash memory, and first-phase production started in March of this year. The parties intend to further invest to expand production capacity over time, depending on market conditions.

In addition, Yokkaichi operations will leverage the site-wide integrated production system, which employs big data processing to analyze over 1.6 billion data points each day, to further improve manufacturing efficiency and the quality of 3D flash memory.

The parties are committed to working together to enhance the value they offer to customers and to continue innovation as market leaders.

Satoshi Tsunakawa, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation, said, “Advanced technologies underline our commitment to respond to continued demand as an innovator in flash memory. We are enhancing manufacturing efficiency and the quality of our world-class facility. Building on that, we also plan investments of as much as 860 billion yen by FY2018, in line with the market situation. Our commitment is firm, and we are confident that our joint venture with Western Digital will produce cost competitive next generation memories at Yokkaichi.”

Steve Milligan, Chief Executive Officer of Western Digital, said, “As a leader in non-volatile memory products and solutions, we are excited to be entering the 3D NAND era with our partner Toshiba. The New Fab 2 enables us to begin the conversion of our existing 2D NAND capacity to 3D NAND and continues our long-standing presence in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, and Japan.”

Overview of the New Fab 2
Structure of building: 2-Story steel frame concrete, five floors
Building area: Approximately 27,600m²
Start of construction: September 2014
Building completion: July 2016

About Toshiba
Toshiba Corporation, a Fortune Global 500 company, channels world-class capabilities in advanced electronic and electrical product and systems into three focus business fields: Energy that sustains everyday life, that is cleaner and safer; Infrastructure that sustains quality of life; and Storage that sustains the advanced information society. Guided by the principles of The Basic Commitment of the Toshiba Group, “Committed to People, Committed to the Future”, Toshiba promotes global operations and is contributing to the realization of a world where generations to come can live better lives.

Founded in Tokyo in 1875, today’s Toshiba is at the heart of a global network of 550 consolidated companies employing 188,000 people worldwide, with annual sales surpassing 5.6 trillion yen (US$50 billion). (As of March 31, 2016.)
To find out more about Toshiba, visit www.toshiba.co.jp/index.htm

About Western Digital
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is an industry-leading provider of storage technologies and solutions that enable people to create, leverage, experience and preserve data. The company addresses ever-changing market needs by providing a full portfolio of compelling, high-quality storage solutions with customer-focused innovation, high efficiency, flexibility and speed. Our products are marketed under the HGST, SanDisk and WD brands to OEMs, distributors, resellers, cloud infrastructure providers and consumers. For more information, please visit www.hgst.com, www.wd.com, and www.sandisk.com.

Western Digital Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including statements about demands for 2D and 3D flash memory, intended use of New Fab 2, higher capacity and performance, further investment in production capacity, improvements in manufacturing efficiency, value enhancement, continued innovation, market position and our continued strategic collaborations and partnerships. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate including, among others: volatility in global economic conditions; business conditions and growth in the storage ecosystem; impact of competitive products and pricing; market acceptance and cost of commodity materials and specialized product components; actions by competitors; unexpected advances in competing technologies; our development and introduction of products based on new technologies and expansion into new data storage markets; risks associated with acquisitions, mergers and joint ventures; difficulties or delays in manufacturing; and other risks and uncertainties listed in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including the company’s Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 9, 2016, as well as SanDisk’s Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 2, 2016, to both of which your attention is directed. We do not intend to update the information contained in this release.

© 2016 Western Digital Corporation. Western Digital, WD, HGST and SanDisk are registered trademarks or trademarks of Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks, registered trademarks, and/or service marks, indicated or otherwise, are the property of their respective owners.

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