SEMI Europe Applauds New Semiconductor Manufacturing Investment

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SEMI Europe today commended the announcement of a new electronics manufacturing facility in Dresden, Germany and the supporting public policy to reinvigorate regional innovation. SEMI Europe, the European regional office of the global industry association SEMI, engages SEMI members to advance the global electronics manufacturing supply chain.

“This is an important development with far-reaching implications for job creation, European investment policy and the global manufacturing supply chain,” says SEMI Europe president Laith Altimime. “SEMI Europe and its Regional Advisory Board have long championed public policies to grow the electronics manufacturing supply chain in Europe. The new Dresden fab is good news for our members because it strengthens the industry value chain and connects local innovation with global equipment and materials suppliers.”

Altimime’s comments came in response to Bosch’s announcement of plans to build a new fab in Dresden for the manufacturing of sensor microelectronics for automotive applications. The investment of more than one billion Euro is the largest in company history and the first “green field” investment in Europe since AMD in Dresden in 1999. The facility is expected to begin production in 2021 and stimulate the creation of 700 jobs.

The new fab will provide sensors for highly automated, autonomous vehicles and electric cars. It also strengthens the automotive sector, the largest value-adding industry in Germany and Europe, as well as other established sectors including machinery and plant engineering and medical technology.

Bosch’s investment also strengthens Saxony’s “Smart Systems ─ Infrastructure Hub” with aims to promote three sectors deemed crucial for IoT development:  Hardware, Software and Connectivity.

Laith Altimime emphasizes, “We are happy to see both public authorities and corporate leaders taking strategic steps to sustain and grow regional innovation industries. SEMI Europe, the regional electronics ecosystem, and SEMI members worldwide see the new Dresden fab as a major step forward and as a catalyst to advance the growth of the semiconductor industry in Europe.” 

SEMI Europe promotes the development of the electronics manufacturing supply chain, the semiconductor and MEMS industry, and builds collaboration platforms for smart transportation technologies with industry advocacy, leading industry technology programs, and the SEMICON Europa exposition. In January 2016, SEMI broadened its supply chain engagement in the MEMS and sensors segment by leveraging MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG) as a SEMI Strategic Association Partner, to advance MEMS and sensors across global markets.

About SEMI

SEMI connects nearly 2,000 member companies and 250,000 professionals worldwide annually to advance the technology and business of electronics manufacturing. SEMI members are responsible for the innovations in materials, design, equipment, software, and services that enable smarter, faster, more powerful, and more affordable electronic products. Since 1970, SEMI has built connections that have helped its members grow, create new markets, and address common industry challenges together. SEMI maintains offices in Bangalore, Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Grenoble, Hsinchu, Seoul, Shanghai, Silicon Valley (Milpitas, Calif.), Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C.