Infineon Technologies AG, Europe's second-largest maker of semiconductors, expects to almost double sales from so-called power chips to US$2.5 billion by 2010, after expanding production through a new factory in Malaysia.
The US$1 billion plant in Kulim, in the northern state of Kedah, will double Infineon's production capacity for power chips and raise the company's sales from this business from the current US$1.3 billion a year, chief executive officer Wolfgang Ziebart told reporters today at the official opening of the factory.
Ziebart said that he expects between US$1 billion and US$1.2 billion in annual sales from the Malaysia factory and may build another plant in the country. The investment reflects a focus by Ziebart, a former automotive industry executive, on areas including semiconductors for power efficiency in cars and household appliances while moving away from businesses such as memory chips.
"Demand would be strong for household appliances," as most will need these chips, said Izhar Allaudin, an analyst at Avenue Securities Sdn. in Kuala Lumpur. The chips made at the Malaysia factory allow energy efficiency in household appliances such as refrigerators and rice cookers, as well as car transmissions control and air-conditioning systems.
Infineon said the factory will hire 1,700 people at full capacity. The company expects the plant, which began production last month, to be running at its full capacity of 100,000 eight-inch wafers a month by the end of 2009.
"This new fab is an important step in continuing our successful business with chips for automotive and industrial power applications," Ziebart said in a statement.
Infineon last month raised US$546 million in an initial share sale of Qimonda AG, its memory-chip unit. Qimonda became the world's second-largest memory-chip maker behind South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co in the first quarter.
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