AT&S Chooses Malaysia for its First Production Site in Southeast Asia

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AT&S, the Austria-headquartered global manufacturing leader of high-end printed circuit boards (PCB) and integrated circuit (IC) substrates, has chosen Malaysia as its first production plant in Southeast Asia. Andreas Gerstenmayer, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AT&S met with YAB Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, yesterday during a video conference to convey the official announcement. 

AT&S’ new campus in Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Kedah, to produce high-end PCBs and IC substrates involves a proposed total investment of RM8.5 billion (€1.7 billion) and will create 5,000 high-tech and high impact jobs. The construction of the facility is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2021 with commercial operations targeted to come on stream in 2024. 

In explaining the choice for the strategic decision, AT&S CEO Andreas Gerstenmayer said, “After very intensive location scouting globally, Malaysia has emerged as the country in which we want to push ahead with our ‘More than AT&S’ strategy. AT&S brings the latest generation of high-end technologies to the country and builds up a completely new technology sector. Besides manufacturing of high-tech products, a significant amount of R&D activities will be executed at this new location. Malaysia can benefit its position as a technology-country and can strengthen the region as a hightech manufacturing hub in Asia.” Pointing out the perfect win-win-situation, AT&S COO Ingolf Schröder said, “The location in the Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Kedah is a perfect match to our expansion plans. Beside the excellent infrastructure and stable supply chain, the whole ecosystem has been aligned in the last decades, the semiconductor industry has been in Malaysia for more than 30 years and the overall environment is very well developed.” 

Welcoming AT&S into Malaysia’s vibrant electrical and electronics (E&E) ecosystem, the Prime Minister YAB Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said, “AT&S’ decision to invest here speaks volumes of its confidence in the Malaysian economy’s capacity and promise of sustainable growth.” He expressed confidence that Malaysia’s E&E industry’s skilled talent pool, facilitative investment environment, as well as deep integration with international supply chains, offer the ideal mix for high-tech stakeholders. “Working hand in hand, AT&S’ footprint in Malaysia will also further boost the development of our semiconductor ecosystem, enable opportunities for our local vendors in the field of advanced electronics and spur high-tech employment for Malaysians,” the Prime Minister added. 

The Prime Minister congratulated AT&S on the significant step into Malaysia and added: “We are delighted that AT&S has committed to Malaysia as we have been working closely with the company since November last year to make the project possible. This investment announcement is an important milestone for Malaysia, demonstrating that our efforts in attracting high quality international companies are bearing fruit.”