Ferrotec opens its Kulim manufacturing facility in Kedah

Ferrotec Holdings opened its manufacturing facility at Kulim Hi-Tech Park in Kedah, Malaysia, on 15 January 2024. The company and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) put the investment at approximately RM850 million, creating more than 800 job opportunities, mainly for local talent.

The plant undertakes electromechanical assembly and advanced material fabrication for semiconductor equipment. Ferrotec vice-president Takeru Yamamura called it the company's first manufacturing location in Southeast Asia. Group president and chief executive He Xian Han, MIDA deputy chief executive Lim Bee Vian and Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor attended the opening ceremony.

Ferrotec announced the Kulim project on 23 May 2022, with MIDA facilitating the investment. Its initial proposal envisaged a facility exceeding 800,000 square feet, investment of more than RM500 million and approximately 250 high-value jobs. The company then expected operations to begin in 2023. These were the project's earlier expectations; the January 2024 opening announcement carried the later investment and employment-opportunity figures.

Ferrotec also committed to training Malaysian employees at factories in Japan and the United States. Eiji Miyanaga, identified in the May announcement as chief executive of Ferrotec (USA), linked the investment to increasing demand in Asia. He said the additional production capacity was intended to improve continuity for critical activities and prevent interruptions to customer supplies.

The initial project announcement placed the Malaysian operation within the group's international expansion. Ferrotec was founded in 1980 around ferrofluid magnetic liquid and sealing products, later supplying industrial materials, components and precision systems.

Ferrotec held the groundbreaking ceremony on 9 August 2022. Its construction announcement retained the focus on electromechanical assembly and advanced materials for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Miyanaga, named there as chief executive of Ferrotec Manufacturing Malaysia, said the new production facility would address capacity demand and support business continuity for customers.

Lim Bee Vian highlighted the business environment, infrastructure and availability of technical and management talent as advantages for the project. She said MIDA sought further investment in capabilities that could improve output quality and volume. Her assessment concerned the conditions for manufacturing investment and the agency's objectives.

The construction-stage gathering brought together:

• Ferrotec group chief executive He Xian Han;
• MIDA deputy chief executive Lim Bee Vian;
• Invest Kedah chief operating officer Noor Ikhsan Bin Abdul Aziz;
• Kulim Technology Park Corporation group chief executive Mohd Sahil Zabidi.