US-based biotech developer DynaFlex and German semiconductor equipment supplier SUSS MicroTec are to increase investment in Taiwan as they look to develop the nation into one of their global manufacturing hubs, they said on Wednesday.
At a news conference held by the Hsinchu Science Park Bureau at Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), DynaFlex vice president for operations Cherie Hung (洪巧俐) told reporters that the company moved into the science park’s biotech development section in 2019, rolling out 5,000 cerebral and cardiac catheters per month.
DynaFlex is planning to rent another plant in the science park this year, which would double its monthly capacity and workforce of 30 employees, Hung said.
Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei Times
The increased investment is expected to help the company provide customers with one-stop shopping services, as it aims to make Taiwan one of its most important manufacturing bases, she added.
SUSS MicroTec is also looking to transform its Taiwanese production site into one of the firm’s overseas manufacturing hubs by taking advantage of the country’s rich high-tech talent pool and location in the Asian market.
The German manufacturer opened a sales office and customer service center in Taiwan in 2001 before setting up a production base in the Hsinchu Science Park in 2020.
Its product portfolio in Taiwan largely focuses on semiconductor UV projection scanners, and semiconductor spin coaters and developers, it said.
Shipments from Taiwan last year topped 20 units, a 10-fold increase from the end of 2020, while its workforce increased from about 90 employees to 185 in the same period, the company said.
SUSS MicroTec said that it would continue to boost production capacity of semiconductor spin coaters and developers in Taiwan, adding that production capacity of the machinery in Taiwan could top that of its German base.
It would also raise production of semiconductor UV projection scanners by further expanding its workforce, it said, adding that the increase in wages for employees in Taiwan this year was double that of last year.
The company has also started to purchase raw materials in Taiwan for local production, it said.
Hsinchu Science Park Bureau director-general Wayne Wang (王永壯) told reporters that companies in Taiwan last year purchased NT$700 billion (US$25.33 billion) of semiconductor equipment, including NT$600 billion in imports.
Taiwan is keen to boost local production of semiconductor equipment by increasing investment in the sector, Wang said.
Several US semiconductor equipment suppliers, including KLA Corp and Lam Research Corp, have inquired park about establishing plants in the science park, he said.
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