Sony ‘shifts’ sensor output away from flood-hit Thailand

Sony is set to shift image sensor production to Japan after floods caused a plant in Thailand to shut down, the firm has told reporters.

Sensor production will resume from January 2012, according to a report published by Japan-based industry newsletter Pen.

Sony will switch all sensor production to its Japanese semiconductor factory in Kumamoto, Kyushu island, according to Pen.

The Thai plant mounts sensors onto circuit boards before they are installed in digital cameras.

Last month Sony’s compact system camera production ground to a halt after floods forced the closure of a plant in Ayutthaya.

This led the firm to postpone indefinitely the European launch of its NEX-7 camera.

Production of the Sony NEX-5N and NEX-C3 compact system camera (CSC) models was also affected.

Pen reports that partial production of the NEX-7 resumed last week, at another factory in Thailand.

A Sony UK spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.