Upcoming Batu Kawan flagship factory vital for future growth, says ams OSRAM

Upcoming Batu Kawan flagship factory vital for future growth, says ams OSRAM

07 Mar 2022

GEORGE TOWN, March 7 — Sensor and LED maker  ams OSRAM will expand its presence in Penang by  occupying a  24-hectare  site  at the Penang International Technology Park in Batu Kawan to construct a flagship facility that will play a vital role in its future growth.

This comes as the company moves towards developing the next generation of highly integrated optical solutions.

ams OSRAM vice-president Glen Brownlie noted that the company was among the so-called “Eight Samurai” of electrical and electronics (E&E) companies that first invested in the state 50 years ago and has produced billions of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) since then.

“In the new facility, we will create a state-of-the-art campus, cutting-edge manufacturing facilities as well as a research and development  centre to design and develop the next generation of highly integrated optical solutions as we advance our technologies in the fields of sensing, illumination, and visualisation,” he told a joint press conference with InvestPenang and Penang Development Corporation on its business expansion plan here today.

“ams OSRAM plans for an exciting and varied portfolio within the new facility. Batu Kawan and Penang are central to the ongoing success of our strategy and our dreams,” he added.

He said the construction of the campus is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2022 and is targeted to complete by end-2023 and added that the development of the site would involve significant capital commitment for both the purchase of the land and the construction costs,

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, who was present at the event, said with ams OSRAM’s latest investment, Penang is poised to grow its talent pool in light-sensing technologies and deepen the state’s engineering expertise in the field of LED.

“The significance of Penang on the global scale is well attested, buoyed by its critical role in the E&E industry in particular; Penang accounted for over 5 per cent of global semiconductor sales,” he said. “Penang’s exports are dominated by E&E and semiconductor products. Penang, being one of the key backbones of the country’s economy, generated RM101 billion in trade surplus in 2021.”

Source: Bernama