The global shortage will at least take another 12 months to stabilise and bring up capacities

by ANIS HAZIM / Pic credit: ats.net

AUSTRIA Technologie & Systemtechnik AG (AT&S) expects the global semiconductor shortage to persist for another year despite the bottlenecks problems in the supply chains being addressed.

“We are now in a very volatile environment that is completely destabilised and this needs to be re-stabilised, and the capacities need to be added to the market,” AT&S group CEO Andreas Gerstenmayer said.

He added that the global shortage will at least take another 12 months to stabilise and bring up capacities.

AT&S’ new plant in Kulim will cater for the demand for the chip supply chain. The new facility aims to brings the latest generation of high-end technologies to Malaysia at its new facility in Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Kedah, which is targeted to come on stream in 2024.

The group’s new facility here involves a total investment of RM8.5 billion for Phase 1 and offer job opportunities to 6,000 highly qualified employees.

“The facility requires a high amount of highly qualified human resources and will boost the region’s labour market.

“The search profiles for employees at the new AT&S plant range from specialists, managers, and leaders in the areas of electronic, mechanical, and chemical engineers, and business,” Gerstenmayer said at a media conference yesterday.

He said the group, which is one of the globally leading manufacturers of high-end printed circuit boards and IC substrates, is also looking for about 4,500 blue-collar workers who can work in a highly sophisticated shop floor environment.

Gerstenmayer said Malaysia will also make a name for itself as a hotspot for a completely new, firstof-its-kind technology segment from this new AT&S facility.

“AT&S brings the latest generation of high-end technologies to Malaysia, and will establish a completely new technology sector in one of the future global microelectronic hotspots,” he stated.

AT&S plans to carry out extensive research and development (R&D) activities at the new site which involve investigating cooperation and partnerships with leading universities in Malaysia.

“These partnerships will not only help us to discover new paths for the microelectronics industry but also make an important contribution to the development of extensive know-how in the various areas of the microelectronics industry for Malaysia,” he added.

The AT&S facility covers 200,000 sq m land at the Kulim Hi-Tech Park with a shop floor space of about 100,000 sq m.

It will also be equipped with almost 2,000 high-tech machines to produce its Ajinomoto Build-up Film substrates for high-performance processors.