Fujifilm to increase magnetic tape production fivefold — Ars Technica

Fujifilm is investing approximately 10 billion yen, or about $63 million, in expanding production of magnetic tapes for data storage at its Kanagawa Factory in Odawara. Production capacity is planned to increase fivefold compared with the level of fiscal year 2025, Ars Technica reports.

Investments through 2028

The project will be implemented in fiscal years 2026–2028. The funds will be directed toward expanding production and hiring additional staff. These facilities will primarily produce the latest-generation FUJIFILM LTO Ultrium10 tape.

Fujifilm called the spending the company’s largest investment in specialized capacity for LTO tape production. The company links the growing need for archiving to the spread of generative artificial intelligence, which, in its assessment, is causing exponential growth in global data volumes.

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Archiving and data protection

Major cloud service providers and data center operators are expanding their use of magnetic tapes for backup storage of large amounts of information. Fujifilm notes that this medium makes it possible to store large volumes of data at a relatively low cost.

Tape cartridges can be physically disconnected from the network and stored separately — in a drawer, secure storage facility, or another room. The company notes that this approach can be the last level of data protection against cyber threats, including ransomware.

Fujifilm has worked with magnetic tapes as data storage media since the 1950s and released its first LTO Ultrium tape in 2000. In 2025, the company introduced LTO Ultrium10 with so-called fine hybrid magnetic particles that combine barium ferrite and strontium ferrite.