https://focustaiwan.tw/business/202011140013
Yageo breaks ground on Kaohsiung plant for electronic components
11/14/2020 07:37 PM
CNA photo Nov. 14, 2020
Nov. 14 (CNA) Taiwan's largest passive electronic component supplier Yageo Corp. broke ground in Kaohsiung Saturday for a new plant that is expected to begin commercial production in 2022.
At the ground breaking ceremony, Yageo Chairman and CEO Pierre Chen (陳泰銘) said it was the company's first new plant in Kaohsiung in 15 years, as it embarked on a plan to move its high-end technology production back home from overseas.
With a completion date set for August 2022, the plant will produce passive electronic components such as chip resistors, inductors, and multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCC), starting in October that year, according to Yageo.
The plant is being built at a cost of NT$5 billion, with an additional NT$13 billion to NT$15 billion allocated for equipment to produce advanced MLCC, and it is expected to create 3,000 new jobs, the company said.
The facility will be a 10-story structure with a floor area of 85.800 square meters, about 1.3 times the size of Yageo's two other MCLL factories in Kaohsiung.
When the plant starts operation, 60 percent of Yageo's total MLCC production will be in Taiwan, and the other 40 percent overseas, according to Chen.
The production lines in Taiwan will be churning out specialty and high-end MLCCs for use in the fields of automotive electronics, medical care, aviation, 5G and the Internet of Things, among other areas, he said.
With three plants in operation in Taiwan, Yageo's MLCC production in the country will increase from 60 billion to 100 billion units per month, cementing the company's position as a leading MLCC supplier in the world, Chen said.
In addition, Yageo will strengthen its development of high-tech technology through expansion, he said, citing the company's acquisition earlier this year of American companies Kemet Corp. and Pulse Electronics Corp. at a cost of US$1.64 billion and US$740 million, respectively.
Yageo will continue to invest in Kaohsiung, as part of its plan to make Taiwan its manufacturing hub over the next five years, Chen said.
The company said it also aims to create a research and development hub in Taiwan, and to that end, it is teaming up with National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Tainan to open an R&D center, under which it will set up an academy to foster a talent pool for the development of passive electronic components.
Yageo has invested at least NT$50 million in the R&D center, which has two research compounds, one in Kaohsiung and the other at the university.
Currently, Yageo ranks as the largest maker of chip resistors and tantalum capacitors in the world, but only 25 percent of its employees are in Taiwan, while 50 percent of its overseas workers are in China.
(By Chung Jung-feng and Frances Huang)
Kaohsiung 高雄 가오슝 เกาสง
Taiwan 台湾 대만 ไต้หวัน