SK Nexilis to build RM2.3bil plant in Malaysia, its first overseas production base
26 Jan 2021
South Korea’s SK Nexilis has announced a proposed investment of RM2.3 billion to set up its first overseas production base in Malaysia.
To be located at Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP) in Sabah, SK Nexilis will build a copper foil manufacturing facility with an annual production capacity of 50,000 tonnes.
The facility’s construction will tentatively begin in the first half of this year and commercial operations to kickstart by 2023.
Once in operations, the new facility will increase SK Nexilis’ copper foil production capacity by three times its current global capacity to about 100,000 tonnes.
SK Nexilis boasts of as world No.1 technology in manufacturing copper foil for batteries.
The company has an industry reputation for building among the best copper foil factories.
International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said the government was pleased that a subsidiary of a Fortune 500 company had chosen Malaysia as its first overseas investment location.
“This is one of the many success stories where the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) has facilitated to bring quality investments into the country.
“As a global leader in thin-tech innovation for copper foil manufacturing, we believe SK Nexilis’ presence will attract more investors to complete Malaysia’s EV (electric vehicle) battery manufacturing supply chain network, making us a hub for high precision and high quality copper foil for niche applications,” he said in a statement today.
Azmin added that the investment would also boost Malaysia’s talent network and capabilities through initiatives with domestic universities and technical institutes.
“Despite the ongoing pandemic, Mida continues to draw high technology investment such as these into the country to provide tangible opportunities for innovation and local supply chain development.
“This is value creation which will boost our local industry’s ecosystem and competitiveness,” he said in a statement today.
SK Nexilis said it had already improved productivity by enhancing its fourth factory facility in South Korea, which began its commercial operation this year, by strategically including wireless vehicles and robots.
“SK Nexilis looks to upgrade further its fifth and sixth factories in Korea as well.
“It will introduce state-of-the-art automation in its Malaysian facility, by integrating the world’s best technology and its know-how from enhancements made to its factories in South Korea; building the world’s best copper foil production facilities in Malaysia,” it said.
Source: NST
