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Toshiba to use Taiwanese firm to make notebooks
Compal wins big order
Asian reports said that Toshiba will use a Taiwanese OEM, for the first time, to manufacture some of its range of notebook machines. According to the organisers of the Computex trade fair, Compal will start shipping units in September, and supply at least 20,000 machines to Toshiba by the end of the year. Toshiba is likely to outsource nearly half a million notebooks from Taiwan in the year 2000, the report said. That is around 10 per cent of its volumes. The Japanese company will join Compaq and IBM in using Taiwanese manufacturers to make its notebook products. The move shows the extent that branding has on the market. While IBM, Compaq and Toshiba are considered market leaders, many who buy their products are unaware of the extent to which they use third party manufacturing. ®