Business

Tuesday May 8, 2012

Bose of US to set up Asia-Pacific manufacturing plant in Penang

By CHOONG EN HAN
han@thestar.com.my


PETALING JAYA: US-based audio specialist Bose Corp would be setting up their first Asia-Pacific plant in Batu Kawan, Penang after starting talks with the Malaysian authorities last October.

The new facility scheduled to open by mid-2013, will manufacture and distribute Bose products for the company's Asia-Pacific business, including Australia, China, India, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and the Asean countries.

“Our operations are capital intensive, and this investment would be done on a multi-phase and multi-year basis. The initial opening of the facility would start with a work force of 50 people,” said Bose manufacturing and global supply chain vice-president Bryan Fontaine at a media briefing held jointly with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida).

He said the plant would ultimately transform to a 600,000-sq-ft facility which would manufacture the company's products which cut across three categories, namely consumer products, professional equipment and automotive.

However, Fontain declined to reveal the value of its investment in the facility, citing confidentiality clauses as the company was still privately held.

The facility would be the company's sixth wholly-owned manufacturing and the first combined manufacturing and development facility in Asia-Pacific.

The plant, to be build on a 9.3ha, is the second plant to be constructed near the second Penang bridge. It is due for completion two months ahead of its September-2013 target.

Fontain also said the company chose Malaysia as government policies and trade agreements support economic growth and stability, along with intellectual property protection which would safeguard the proprietary technologies in Bose products and systems.

“This marks a milestone for our Asia-Pacific business and also for our global operations. We believe the established supply chain for consumer electronic products, from materials to final assembly and a highly-skilled work force would meet our global standards for quality and excellence,” he said.

With the localisation of parts for Bose products, Bose executive vice-president Herbert Batchelder said local consumers could expect cheaper products once the factory started operations.

Meanwhile, Mida chairman Tan Sri Sulaiman Mahbob said Bose had received pre-packaged in incentives including traditional incentives like tax cuts and also some additional incentives.

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