Business

Thursday April 16, 2009

Infineon plans RM1.7bil expansion

By DAVID TAN


KULIM: Infineon Technologies (Kulim) Sdn Bhd plans to spend another RM1.7bil for its facility in Kulim Hi-Tech Park (KHTP) once the economic crisis is over.

The investment would be for the expansion of high volume production and research and development (R&D) activities, vice-president and managing director Tan Soo Hee told StarBiz.

“The R&D work will be expanded to include improving production processes, enhancing our automation technology, developing new modes of analysis on the defects and weaknesses of our products, and creating new materials for use in the production processes,” he said. However, the company could not predict when the economic crisis will end.

About 30% of the floor space in the Kulim facility had installed equipment so there was still 70% for expansion, Tan said.

Yan Soo Hee showing the wafer product

The group had so far spent RM2.1bil for the Kulim plant, he added.

“One aspect of our R&D work is to improve production processes to reduce wastage.

“The Kulim plant is one of the many Infineon Technologies facilities involved in a worldwide programme to help the group save 600 million euros through cost management and increased productivity.

“Another aspect of the R&D work is creating value with our existing equipment,” he said.

Tan said there were no plans to downsize the staff strength at the Kulim plant.

“We have spent RM110mil to train some 600 of our staff. If we were to retrench, our training efforts would go to waste,” he said.

Instead of downsizing or implementing pay cuts, Tan said 300 to 400 of Infineon Technologies Kulim’s senior management, executives and engineers were supporting the group’s unpaid leave programme by taking three to five days of unpaid leave a month for three months.

Infineon Technologies produces power and logic chips used in the security, industrial and automotive sectors.

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