Bosch investing RM140m to remodel Penang car multimedia plant

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GEORGE TOWN: Bosch, a leading global supplier of technology and services, is investing RM140 million over the 2014-2018 period to remodel its car multimedia plant in Bayan Lepas, Penang.

Commercial managing director for Bosch car multimedia Penang, Dr Li Song, said the remodelling project is part of the group's efforts to strengthen the Penang plant for the global market.

He said the purpose of the renovation is to further improve existing infrastructure with the construction of new buildings to accommodate the company's growing development and engineering team and surface mount technolgy (SMT) manufacturing operations.

"To-date we have invested RM66 million towards the extension of the product development, engineering and SMT production operations at the Bosch car multimedia plant to boost production volumes and meet the growing global demand," he said after the formal opening of the Bosch car multimedia plant by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in George Town on Thursday.

Li said the expansion includes the opening of a new engineering centre and extra shop floors for the SMT manufacturing operations, adding that the new SMT facility will accommodate plans for increased production volumes to keep pace with market demand and also improve technical capabilities.

"This is also aligned with the company's plans to grow its overall development headcount by up to 40% in 2016 in Penang," he said.

Li said the move is in line with the group's strategic vision, with the Penang manufacturing and research and development (R&D) facility becoming an even more important pillar in the Bosch group's global development and manufacturing network.

He said the expansion of this engineering unit to facilitate more R&D projects will position Bosch to meet the demand, providing a broader array of services for customers locally, regionally and globally.

He said Penang is currently Bosch's largest development hub in Asean.

"The car multimedia site in Penang was chosen as one of our Bosch global development centres for a variety of reasons including the availability of qualified engineers and the strategic location which positions Bosch to readily supply and export our products worldwide," he said.

With this new product development and engineering centre and SMT expansion in Penang coupled with the responsibility of servicing global products lines, Li said Malaysia is on track to become an even stronger strategic location within the Bosch group.

Bosch has been present in Malaysia since 1923, represented by Robert Bosch Sdn Bhd, with offices in Selangor and Penang.

In Malaysia, the group is active in automotive technology, industrial technology, consumer goods and energy and building technology. - Bernama