U.S.-based biotech developer DynaFlex and semiconductor equipment supplier SUSS MicroTec from Germany on Wednesday announced plans to increase investment in Taiwan, as they look to develop Taiwan into one of their global manufacturing hubs.
At a news conference held by the Hsinchu Science Park Bureau at Hsinchu Science Park, a center for high-tech firms in Taiwan, Cherie Hung (???), DynaFlex’s vice president for operations, said 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 will double its monthly capacity and workforce, which currently totals 30, Hung said.
The increased investment is expected to help DynaFlex provide clients with one-stop shopping services, while the company aims to build the production lines in Taiwan into one of its most important manufacturing bases in the world, Hung added.
For its part, SUSS MicroTec is also looking to transform its current production site in Taiwan into one of the firm’s critical overseas production hubs by taking advantage of the country’s rich high tech talent pool and geographic proximity to the Asian market.
The German tech manufacturer inaugurated a sales office and customer service center in Taiwan in 2001 before setting up a production base in the Hsinchu Science Park in 2020.
According to SUSS MicroTec, its product portfolio in Taiwan largely focuses on semiconductor mask aligners and semiconductor spin coaters and developers.
Shipments from Taiwan in 2020 topped 20 units, a 10-fold increase from the end of 2020, while its workforce increased from 80-90 to 185 in the same period, the German company said.
SUSS MicroTec said it will continue to boost production capacity of semiconductor spin coaters and developers in Taiwan, adding that production capacity of the two types of machinery in Taiwan could top that of its German base.
In addition, SUSS MicroTec said it will also raise production of semiconductor mask aligners in Taiwan by expanding its workforce further, adding that the increase in wages for employees in Taiwan this year was double that of last year.
The company has also started to make purchases of raw materials in Taiwan for local production, SUSS MicroTec said.
In response, Wayne Wang (???), director general of the Hsinchu Science Park Bureau, told reporters that companies in Taiwan purchased semiconductor equipment valued at NT$700 billion (US$25.27 billion) last year, including NT$600 billion worth of imports.
As a result, Taiwan is keen to boost local production of semiconductor equipment by increasing investment in the sector, Wang said.
Several U.S. semiconductor equipment suppliers, including KLA Corp. and Lan Research, have submitted inquiries to the science park about the possibility of establishing plants there, according to Wang.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel