Technicolor Opens Video Duplication Operation in Denmark

Technicolor, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carlton Communications Plc, has opened a video duplication facility in Denmark.

“The Game,” starring Michael Douglas, will be the first videocassette off the line at the new facility in Pandrup, Jutland.

Technicolor, based in Camarillo, is the world’s largest producer of prerecorded videocassettes, capable of manufacturing more than 10 million videocassettes a week. The company also has manufacturing and distribution operations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Holland, Italy and Spain.

The Danish plant, which will initially have the capacity to produce more than 5 million units a year, will serve the fast-growing Scandinavian market. Production is beginning with 50 employees and more than 1,500 VCRs, with plans for a 50% expansion in the near future.

The new plant opens as a full-service facility with duplication, packaging and distribution service capabilities.

The market in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland is worth almost $200 million a year and has almost doubled in the last five years. The VCR is well entrenched in Scandinavia, with average penetration of more than 70% of households. Films by Technicolor’s key customers--Disney, Warner Bros. and DreamWorks SKG--are regularly featured at the top of the charts in all of the Scandinavian countries, company officials said.