Semiconductor shortage? Bosch to invest over 400 million euros in production sites
«Demand for chips is continuing to grow at breakneck speed. In light of current developments, we are systematically expanding our semiconductor production so we can provide our customers with the best possible support», commented Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch.
Bosch is about to provide and answer to the hot matter of semiconductor shortage by investing over 400 million euros in the development and upgrade of its production sites located in Dresden, Reutlingen, and Penang (Malaysia). The growing demand for chips will then require a huge investment to be carried out by the end of 2022. «Demand for chips is continuing to grow at breakneck speed. In light of current developments, we are systematically expanding our semiconductor production so we can provide our customers with the best possible support», commented Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch.
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Most of the capital expenditure is earmarked for Bosch’s new 300-millimeter wafer fab in Dresden, where manufacturing capacity is to be expanded even faster in 2022. Around 50 million euros of the planned sum will be spent on the wafer fab in Reutlingen near Stuttgart in the coming year. Bosch will invest a total of 150 million euros in additional clean-room space here from 2021 to 2023. In Penang, Malaysia, Bosch is also building a test center for semiconductors from scratch. Starting in 2023, the center will test finished semiconductor chips and sensors.
Bosch is investing to face semiconductor shortage on a global scale
The second stage of the expansion will create a further 3,000 square meters of clean-room space by the end of 2023. To this end, the company will invest some 50 million euros in both 2022 and 2023. Bosch is also creating 150 new jobs in semiconductor development at its Reutlingen location. As for the Malaysian site in Penang, the highly automated and connected factory is set to perform testing of semiconductor chips and sensors starting in 2023.
In total, Bosch has more than 100,000 square meters of land available on Penang’s mainland strip, which will be developed in stages. The additional testing capacity in Penang is intended to open up the possibility of locating new technologies in Bosch’s wafer fabs in the future, such as silicon carbide semiconductors in Reutlingen. In addition, the new location in Asia will shorten delivery times and distances for the chips.
