Adampak

[dydx]

Today (24Mar11), S&P issued a well-written update report on Adampak.....
http://research.sgx.com/reports/rpt_view.pl?id=6443

I feel that the S&P analyst (Vincent Ng) has chosen to be a little more conservative this time round, mainly because of the emergence of the tablet PCs which use SSDs and not HDDs.

My own view is simply that I am confident Adampak under the present management will continue to grow its business volume at a steady pace and make more profits, by adapting to market changes, focussing on existing customers, and actively pursuing new profitable business opportunities.

[FFNow]

dydx, I still don't get how the shift to SSDs will affect Adampak's business. What does Adampak supply to the making of the HDDs? Could u explain to me?

[dydx]

dydx, I still don't get how the shift to SSDs will affect Adampak's business. Could u explain to me?

There is this fear advanced by some pundits that SSDs will eventually displace HDDs fully. SSDs now prevail over HDDs in some technical aspects (like speed of date retrieval and lower power consumption), but are much more expensive on an unit GB price basis - i.e. SSDs are not economical in computing devices which require large data storage capacities, including external drive storage devices.

There is a recent emergence of the tablet PCs - driven by the Apple iPad - which use only SSDs. While increasing popular, tablet PCs are unlikely to replace laptop and/or desktop PCs, which use HDDs mostly and continue to enjoy steady y-o-y increases in volume shipped.

Adampak now supplies and sells a lot of labels and die-cut parts to the leading producers of HDDs like Western Digital and Seagate. Apart from PCs, HDDs are also used in many other devices, including in cars.

I think so far there are still no clear indicators that overall industry production/shipment volumes of HDDs are falling due to direct competition from and replacement by SSDs.

Other forumers who are tech savvy may have something to add.

[FFNow]

But can't Adampak supply and sell labels and die-cut parts to SSDs as well? Don't SSDs need labels and die-cut parts as well?

[lonewolf]

I think there is a strong case for SSD to eventually overtake HDD as the defacto storage device. Sure, its most expensive now to produce but history teaches us that the price of SSD will continue to fall with improved manufacturing method; and a day will come where a 'sweet spot' between cost and performance will justify the higher cost of the SSD.

Personally I can see SSD being the eventual storage medium for portable devices including netbook and laptop; if I'm not mistaken, there are already some on offer. So its not a matter of if - but when SSD will replace the HDD. And I wont be surprised if SSD overtake HDD within the next 2 yrs. Of cos it will not mean the end of the HDD cos its low cost will continue to attract the budget conscious buyer.

Having said that, the same HDD manufacture are going also to be manufacturing SSD. So assuming Adampak has a good relationship with them, that it can continue to leverage on the requirements for SSD.

From my limited understanding of SSD, there is no moving part and it works just like your RAMs or thumb drive but much bigger capacity. So a SSD may not require the Adhesive Free Zone (AFZ) Seals that Adampak is supplying to the HDD manufacturer.

dydx, HDD in car? Are you sure? I would tend to think a moving object like a car would be perfect for SSD rather than HDD.

[FFNow]

From wikipedia on SSD @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid-state_drive:

Cost and capacity
The technological trend is a 2 year 50% decline in costs, while capacities continue to double at the same rate. As a result, flash-based solid-state drives are becoming increasingly popular in markets such as notebook PCs and sub-notebooks for enterprises, Ultra-Mobile PCs (UMPC), and Tablet PCs for the healthcare and consumer electronics sectors.

[dydx]

dydx, HDD in car? Are you sure? I would tend to think a moving object like a car would be perfect for SSD rather than HDD.

Please view the following videos and read an old 2007 article to be educated.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr3qdZ7Cxnw [HDD in Cadillac CTS]
http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-use-...ura-mdxzdx [HDD in Acura MDX]
http://wardsautoworld.com/ar/auto_hard_drive_growing/ [2007 Autoworld article]

Nowadays, HDDs have huge storage capacity of 1, 2, or 3 TB (1TB = 1,000GB) designed for collection of movies/videos/songs/pictures. Take a tour on WDC website to understand the wide range of HDDs and their target markets.....
http://www.wdc.com/en/
In terms of scale and economics - i.e. unit price per GB - SSDs still have a long, long way to catch up with HDDs. May be SSDs will never catch up, as the technologies behind HDDs are also advancing.

[changwk]

so we know if Adampak is supplying labels to any of the SDD manufacturers?

[lonewolf]

Please view the following videos and read an old 2007 article to be educated.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr3qdZ7Cxnw [HDD in Cadillac CTS]
http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-use-...ura-mdxzdx [HDD in Acura MDX]
http://wardsautoworld.com/ar/auto_hard_drive_growing/ [2007 Autoworld article]

A 4 year old article?? OK. Considered myself educated
By the way, where was SSD four years ago? And where will SSD be 4 years from now. I think that is more critical. The pt is that if HDD is relevant for cars, then SSD is probably even more relevant. Or any moving platform or harsh environment.

Here's a 2-year article about Sanyo's plan to introduce a 16G SSD in-car navigation systems.

Also rem that as far as technology is concerned, it never stopped. What was once the defacto standard can be easily be replaced by something cheaper and better, more advanced. Think cassette tape, video tape, floppy drive, even analogue camera and films. They are all but extinct now but were once considered replaceable too. Are you so sure that HDD would not follow the same fate? Maybe. Maybe not. Only time will tell.

[dydx]

No doubt, technology never stops advancing, and so is the application of the simple - yet advanced - technology of combining different adhesives to different materials. A great example of this is the replacement of hammer and nails, and power drill and screws, in order to place hooks on the wall, with the convenient "3M Command" range of products.....
http://www.command.com/wps/portal/3M/en_...d/Command/

Read the following 3M brochure on the wide applications of this simple - yet advanced - technology, and the important role converters play to bring the technology to meet the varied needs of industries.....
http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/mediawebser...%20low.pdf

And be amazed by the huge range of 3M materials - essentially produced by combining different adhesives with different materials - available to the converters and ultimate users.....
http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/mediawebser...ets-LR.pdf