Seagate and Sony to jointly develop new disc media technology; New PERM disc has potential to allow development of disc drives with five times the areal densities of conventional drives

Business Wire, Jan 19, 1995

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 19, 1995--Seagate Technology today announced that it has reached an agreement with Sony Corporation, Japan, to jointly develop and commercialize a magnetic hard disc drive utilizing a new media technology pioneered by Sony. The disc drive will be based upon technology known as Pre-Embossed Rigid Magnetic (PERM) media that has the potential to improve storage capacity, simplify the manufacturing process and reduce overall manufacturing costs of disc drives.

"We have a commitment to exploring technologies that will allow us to provide customers with the best products possible," said Alan F. Shugart, chairman and CEO of Seagate. "This is an example of how we can partner with companies like Sony to develop and potentially market important new technologies that could be mutually beneficial to the industry, our customers and ourselves."

PERM, unlike conventional aluminum- and glass-based media used in hard disc drives, is a plastic-based disc similar to media technology used in data CD-ROM and magneto-optical (MO) disc drives now on the market. PERM discs have a permanently embossed embedded servo, which offers potential benefits that would reduce manufacturing costs while enabling significantly higher areal densities.

"The PERM technology, used in combination with new head and channel technologies, could allow us to develop high-quality, high-capacity, disc drives that are easier and cheaper to build," said Dr. Hossein Moghadam, Seagate's senior vice president and chief technical officer, Data Storage Products.

Seagate Technology is a data technology company that provides products for storing, managing and accessing digital information on the world's computer and data communications systems. Seagate's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "SEG."

CONTACT: Seagate Technology

Julie A. Still, 408/439-2276

David Webb, 408/439-2838