Siemens AG plans to double its investment in a research and development (R&D) center in Taiwan to NT$120 million (US$3.89 million) to meet growing customer demand for its industrial Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and artificial intelligence technology.
The company is expanding the center after forging more partnerships to connect customers’ devices with machines online.
It is to launch a digital experience and application center in Taichung in the fourth quarter of this year.
The center, the first of its kind in Asia for Siemens, would provide advanced digital solutions and training for local machine tool manufacturers.
“Siemens is committed to assisting Taiwan in a comprehensive digital transition and smart upgrading, leading to smart manufacturing, sustainable energy and intelligence infrastructure,” Siemens Taiwan president and chief executive officer Erdal Elver said on Thursday last week in Taipei.
Last year, Siemens Taiwan inked memorandums of understanding with Systex Corp (精誠), WiAdvance Technology Co (緯謙) and Nexcom International Co (新漢) to provide its MindSphere solutions to the companies.
MindSphere is a cloud-based and open IoT operating system that connects plants and machines, enabling manufacturers to harness the data generated by IoT devices with advanced analytics, Siemens said on its Web site.
With growth momentum on the rise, Siemens Taiwan plans to increase headcount by at least 10 percent to about 770 people this year, Elver said on the sidelines of the media gathering.
The company aims to achieve an annual revenue growth rate that would more than double the nation’s GDP growth rate this year, Elver said.
Taiwan’s economy is projected to grow 2.27 percent this year, according to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.
Last year, local companies procured about NT$3 billion worth of Siemens products, mostly from semiconductor companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), Elver said.
The procurement amount is expected to increase this year, he said.
Commenting on the effects of the US-China trade spat, Elver said that several of Siemens’ customers are considering relocating their manufacturing plants from China to Taiwan or Vietnam, which would help boost the company’s business.
However, many of Siemens’ customers in the machine tool segment are suffering from weak demand in China as companies there face heavy import tariffs in the US, he said.
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