According to company representatives, the semiconductor board plants in Dresden and Reutlingen, Germany, as well as its semiconductor operations in Penang, Malaysia, will be expanded.
“The demand for chips continues to grow at a dizzying rate. Given the current situation, we are systematically expanding our semiconductor production so that we can provide our customers with the best possible support, “said Dr. Volkmar Denner, Chairman of the Board of Robert Bosch GmbH.
Most of the investment goes to Bosch’s new 300mm semiconductor board plant in Dresden, where production capacity is set to expand even faster in 2022.
Also, about 50 million euros of the planned amount will be spent next year for the semiconductor board factory in Reutlingen, near Stuttgart. Bosch will invest a total of 150 million euros here for the additional space with controlled environment, from 2021 to 2023.
“Our goal is to increase the production of semiconductor boards in Dresden earlier than planned and, at the same time, to expand the capacity of controlled rooms in Reutlingen.
Every additional chip we produce will be helpful in the current situation, “said Harald Kroeger, a member of the Board of Directors of Robert Bosch GmbH.
More than 4,000 square meters will be added, in two stages, to the 35,000 square meters of space with a controlled environment in Reutlingen.
The first stage, the addition of an area of 1,000 square meters for the production of 200 millimeter semiconductor boards, to reach a total of 11,500 square meters, has already been completed, the company announces.
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The new unit has been producing semiconductor boards since September.
“We have already expanded our production capacity of 200 millimeter semiconductor boards by about 10 percent,” says Kroeger.
Capital expenditures of EUR 50 million (in 2021) were required for this objective. Through this move, the company is responding in particular to the increased demand for MEMS sensors and silicon carbide power semiconductors.
The second stage of the expansion will create another 3,000 square meters of space with a controlled environment by the end of 2023.
To this end, the company will invest approximately 50 million euros in 2022 and 2023. By developing semiconductor production at its location in Reutlingen, Bosch is also creating 150 new jobs.
The quoted source mentions that another part of the capital expenditures planned for 2022 will be allocated to a new semiconductor testing center in Penang.
“This highly automated and connected plant will test semiconductor chips and sensors starting in 2023. In total, Bosch owns more than 100,000 square meters of land in the Penang mainland, and development will be carried out in stages.” transmits the company.
Initially, the test center will cover an area of approximately 14,000 square meters, including environmentally controlled rooms, office space, research and development, and training facilities for up to 400 employees.
Work on the foundation at the new location began in late 2020, and construction began in May 2021.
The company’s representatives also announce that the test center will start its operations in 2023.
According to them, the additional testing capacity in Penang is intended to open up the possibility of introducing new technologies in Bosch semiconductor plants in the future, such as silicon carbide semiconductor technology for Reutlingen. In addition, the new location in Asia will reduce the time and distances for chip delivery.
The Bosch Group has been present in Romania for 27 years and has approximately 8,160 employees in five entities. In 2020, Bosch recorded sales of 448 million euros on the Romanian market.
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