Sony has begun converting its Thalgau, Austria, facility — long dedicated to producing optical discs for PlayStation — into a factory for optical microlenses, the company said as it accelerates a shift toward digital distribution.
€30 million investment to change production
Sony invested €30 million (about US$34 million or roughly R$184 million) to adapt the Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation (DADC) plant in Thalgau from disc manufacturing to microlens production, according to Engadget.
Microlenses are optical components that manipulate light and are used across several technologies, including camera sensors, augmented and virtual reality headsets, fiber-optic networks, and medical devices.
Disc output will shrink sharply
The Thalgau plant currently produces about 600,000 discs per day, with roughly half of that volume serving PlayStation games. Dietmar Tanzer, CEO of Sony DADC, said that output is expected to fall to roughly 10% of present capacity by 2028.
The DADC has a history of large-scale disc manufacturing: the company once operated a major plant in Terre Haute, Indiana, which produced 23 billion discs before closing in 2022, and subsequently manufactured another 3.4 billion units.
Workers to be retained and retrained
About 300 employees at the Thalgau facility will remain on staff and receive training to produce the microlenses. Production of the new components is planned to begin next year.
Internal communication about the conversion took place on July 1, when Sony also announced it will move to fully embrace digital distribution starting January 2028.
Reusing industrial capacity for emerging tech
The factory conversion illustrates Sony’s strategy to repurpose existing industrial assets to meet demand for components in technologies that continue to grow in importance. As physical disc production winds down, the plant is being retooled to supply parts for imaging, AR/VR, telecom, and medical applications.
