GZ MEDIA, the Czech partner of Thomson Litho, Scotland's biggest independent printing firm, yesterday said it will invest around (pounds) 1.2m to create the first CD and DVD manufacturing plant north of the border.
The move, which is expected to create at least 25 jobs, is an aberration from a trend that has seen the manufacturing bases of global movers and shakers moving eastwards.
The most bitter blow for Scotland came in 2001, when US giant Compaq transferred PC production from Renfrewshire to the Czech Republic, with the loss of more than 1000 jobs at the Scottish plant and within the local supply chain.
It was also a blow for Thomson, which made the manuals for Compaq PCs and lost most of its UK income when its biggest customer went east. However, Thomson followed Compaq and built its own plant in the Czech Republic.
GZ Media will set up its new business in the East Kilbride premises of Thomson and expects to produce its first CDs, primarily software for computer manufacturers, and DVDs of feature films by this summer.
The business logic of the plan is that while manufacturing costs in Scotland remain higher than those in the Czech Republic, GZ has customers in the UK, France, and Belgium that must be serviced quickly.
GZ could not be reached for comment yesterday.
However, Jim McAllion, Thomson's manager in the Czech Republic, said: ''We are giving GZ exactly the kind of help in Scotland that they
gave us.
''For GZ, setting up in Scotland is all about providing a quicker turnaround for customers in the UK market and France and elsewhere.''
Jim Wallace, enterprise minister, praised the move. He said: ''The news that GZ Media is to invest $2m in setting up the first CD and DVD manufacturing facility in Scotland shows the kind of unexpected spin-offs that can come from establishing global connections.''
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