National Instruments (NI) announced a US$40 million (RM170 million) expansion of its facility in Penang today.
NI chief executive officer Alex Davern said this would include a second building next to its existing plant.
“The new expansion will open up 250 new positions,” he said in his speech here.
NI Penang was established in 2009 as a key global hub and is now the third-largest NI facility in the world.
NI Penang is also one of the firm’s largest research and development (R&D) centres outside of its headquarters in Austin, Texas.
Davern said the American company chose to set up its plant in Penang and Malaysia because of the skilled workforce and stable business environment here.
“The talent we found here fit in with the NI culture of excellence and the talents here take pride in their work and contributions to the company and country,” he said.
NI Malaysia managing director and APAC manufacturing vice president P. Rajesh said the groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion will be in the third quarter of 2021.
“The construction will complete within a year and we expect it to be in operations by 2022,” he said during a press conference.
The new facility will cover 160,000 sq ft on six acres of land.
“Altogether, we have 23 acres of land and currently, our production is at 60 per cent capacity in our existing facility,” he said.
He said the new facility will increase the company’s revenue through 5G technology and industry 4.0 products.
“The technology products built here will be leading edge that includes wireless and 5G technology,” he said.
The current NI facility has about 1,000 employees and about 70 per cent are in managerial, technical and supervisory roles.
The total cumulative capital investment in the facility was over US$84 million.
He said the new facility will be a mixed-use building with a shared service centre and distribution hub.
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, in his speech, said the reinvestment was a vote of confidence for Penang and Malaysia’s ability to attract foreign direct investments.
He said the 250 jobs created by the expansion will be high value jobs for positions in R&D and shared services.
“Many of the products built here by NI are related to Industry 4.0, 5G and autonomous vehicle markets which places Penang in the world map for producing these cutting-edge products,” he said.
NI is an American multinational company that produces automated test equipment and virtual instrumentation software.
News on Malay Mail: https://www.malaymail.com/news/money/2019/11/21/national-instruments-in-rm170m-expansion-of-penang-ops/1811940
槟城首席部长曹观友说，美国国家仪器有限公司（National Instruments）将投入4000万美元（约1亿7000万令吉）在2020年扩建5G新厂房，并带来250个就业机会，这充分证明了槟城依旧是外国商家的首选投资地。
他今日出席美国国家仪器有限公司宣布扩建工程记者会上说。
他说，要吸引新的外资前来，并不是一件容易的事情，而随着美国国家仪器有限公司的扩建，相信将会增加外资在槟城进行再投资（re-investment)的信心。
“要让新的投资者真正下决定来我国投资，需要非常长的过程与时间，并不是一件容易的事，惟槟城的人才库、企业生态及供应链，是吸引该公司以及外资在槟城扎根的关键因素。”
他希望，希望各造能够配合槟城2030愿景，携手迈向5G工业发展，同时，他也感谢本地的教育单位和学府，积极培育专业人才，让槟城能继续成为外资的首选之地。
美国国家仪器世界第三大厂
大马美国国家仪器执行董事兼亚太区副总裁拉惹斯指出，扩建计划将于2020年第三季度动工，预计一年内竣工，该厂将会是公司在全球的第三大工厂。
他说，工厂扩建计划包含混合用途、共享服务中心及分销枢纽建筑，新建筑占地6英亩，加上原本的工厂，共23英亩。
欣赏我国各项条件优秀
美国国家仪器有限公司总执行长亚力克斯说，该公司之所以选择在大马及槟城投资，主要原因是因为这里有优秀的人才库、创新文化、对待工作的态度以及稳定的经商环境。
美国国家仪器有限公司总执行长亚力克斯说，该公司之所以选择在大马及槟城投资，主要原因是因为这里有优秀的人才库、创新文化、对待工作的态度以及稳定的经商环境。
“大马除了拥有稳定的商业环境，我们也获得中央政府、州政府及政府机构的支持，没有你们的支持，或许就不会有今日的规模与成就。”
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