Intel opens Malaysian chip design plant

Sufia Tippu
Monday, 29 May 2006 04:30

IT Industry - Market

Leading chip maker Intel has opened a new $40 million design and development center in Kulim, Malaysia to complement its existing operations there.

The company plans to hire about 900 design engineers at the new center taking the total headcount in Kulim's Hi-Tech Park to over 3,000.

The 200,000-square-foot facility will focus on the design of microprocessors, chip sets, motherboards, server boards and custom microchips for use in Intel's product lines.

"The opening of the center reflects the fact that Malaysia's talented workforce has become increasingly integral to Intel," said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini.

The new facility, "along with Intel's continued work with the Malaysian government to drive manufacturing and engineering activities, will strengthen the country's economic competitiveness in the global marketplace," he added.

K.C. Yoon, Intel's Malaysia managing director for assembly and test, said, "With the opening of this center, we intend to grow our workforce at this site by 30 percent and increasingly deliver innovative technologies."

An Intel spokesperson said that the design center would have an "immediate input" on products produced at Intel's existing assembly/test and board operations in Kulim, a major factor behind the firm's decision to locate the new facility there, adding that the company has achieved a good synergy through co-location.