Japan’s Fujikura Ltd. plans to bring a new U.S. fiber-optic cable manufacturing operation online by 2030 as part of a proposed investment of up to $1.6 billion in U.S. optical-cable capacity.
Per Nikkei, a Japanese business newspaper, President Naoki Okada said the company expects to select a site after assessing access to raw materials and energy, including hydrogen, as well as available government support. The company plans to make additional investment decisions based on market demand, with full-scale production targeted for fiscal 2035, the report said.
The U.S. project is part of a broader plan to expand Fujikura’s optical-fiber and cable capacity in both Japan and the United States. The company aims to increase its combined capacity to about four times its fiscal 2022 level as demand grows for high-density optical connections used in AI-focused data centers.
Per the report, Fujikura has also taken organizational steps to support its U.S. investment program. The company said it would establish Fujikura Optical Cable Systems LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary in Delaware, to advance the planned expansion.
In Japan, Fujikura has approved construction of a new optical-cable plant at its Sakura Works site in Chiba Prefecture. That facility is expected to require about $250 million in investment and is scheduled to begin operating in December 2030, producing ultra-high-density optical-fiber cable.
The company’s expansion program includes its Spider Web Ribbon (SWR) and Wrapping Tube Cable (WTC) products, which are designed for high-fiber-count data-center applications.
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