Bosch Opens New Semiconductor Test Center in Malaysia
Global demand for chips for the automotive and consumer goods industries remains high. That is why Bosch is continuing to expand its semiconductor business. The company has now opened a new test center for chips and sensors in Penang, Malaysia, at a cost of some 65 million euros; it plans to invest a further 285 million euros at the site by the middle of the next decade. “With our new semiconductor test center in Penang, we are creating additional capacity within our worldwide manufacturing network to meet the continued high demand for chips and sensors,” said Dr. Stefan Hartung, chairman of the Bosch board of management. “Semiconductors are a decisive success factor for all Bosch business areas, and the expansion of this business is strategically very important.”
In total, Bosch has some 100,000 square meters of land available on Penang’s mainland strip. The new test center currently covers more than 18,000 square meters and includes clean rooms, office space, and laboratories for quality assurance and manufacturing. By the middle of the next decade, up to 400 associates will be working there. With the new factory and a total of 4,200 associates, Penang is now Bosch’s biggest location in Southeast Asia.
Semiconductor manufacturing can basically be divided into two sections: frontend manufacturing and backend manufacturing. For the latter, Malaysia is an important hub in the global semiconductor supply chain. The country is estimated to cover around 13 percent of global backend manufacturing. According to official figures, in recent years the state of Penang has generated more than 5 percent of worldwide semiconductor revenue. “The new test center in Penang brings our manufacturing network closer to the companies that serve the further value chain of semiconductor manufacturing as well as to customers in this important Asian market. That shortens delivery times and routes, and it improves
our competitiveness,” says Dr. Markus Heyn, member of the Bosch board of management and chairman of the Mobility business sector.
