-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- smt007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueIPC APEX EXPO 2024 Pre-show
This month’s issue devotes its pages to a comprehensive preview of the IPC APEX EXPO 2024 event. Whether your role is technical or business, if you're new-to-the-industry or seasoned veteran, you'll find value throughout this program.
Boost Your Sales
Every part of your business can be evaluated as a process, including your sales funnel. Optimizing your selling process requires a coordinated effort between marketing and sales. In this issue, industry experts in marketing and sales offer their best advice on how to boost your sales efforts.
The Cost of Rework
In this issue, we investigate rework's current state of the art. What are the root causes and how are they resolved? What is the financial impact of rework, and is it possible to eliminate it entirely without sacrificing your yields?
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - smt007 Magazine
EG Industries’ Smart ‘Lights-Out’ Factory 4.0 in Batu Kawan Set to be a Game-Changer in the Northern Peninsular
March 27, 2023 | EG IndustriesEstimated reading time: 3 minutes
Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) provider EG Industries Berhad (EG Industries) is set to build a RM180 million Smart ‘Lights-Out’ Factory 4.0 in Batu Kawan, Penang, which is expected to be a game-changer for the Northern Peninsular. The factory will be producing new 5G Advanced High Speed Optical Signal Transmitter and Receiver for 5G wireless network (“Optical Modules”), using photonics and semiconductor technologies through technology transfer from its US-based customer Cambridge Industries Group (“CIG”).
The Batu Kawan plant, which commenced construction in January 2023, will initiate the first pioneer technology transfer in South East Asia. This is expected to raise the skillset and competitiveness of the local workforce and is set to hire approximately 1,000 high-skilled talents upon completion in the first half of 2024.Today, EG Industries hosted a delegation from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) in Sg. Petani, led by Ms. Lim Bee Vian, Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Investment Development), in conjunction with their expansion plan announcement. Also present at the event was YB Dato’ Wira Dr. Ku Abd Rahman, Senior State Executive Council Member (Kedah) and Member of Parliament Kubang Pasu, Kedah.
EG Industries, who currently employs 3,000 staff representing about 1 per cent of the Sg. Petani population, intends to actively collaborate with local universities and colleges to train fresh graduates to become industry-savvy. With its ‘hire local first’ policy, EG Industries prioritises employing Malaysians from the surrounding vicinity, enabling it to reduce dependency on foreign labour.
Ms. Lim Bee Vian, DCEO (Investment Development) of MIDA congratulated EG Industries, said, “We are pleased to see that EG Industries is actively collaborating with local universities and colleges to train fresh graduates to become industry-savvy. With their ‘hire local first’ policy, we applaud the company for providing job opportunities to Malaysians in the surrounding area, reducing dependency on foreign labor, and therefore helping our locals to increase their source of livelihood. Certainly, EG Industries’ expansion plans align with the National Investment Aspirations (NIA) of attracting high-value investments to deliver sustainable and holistic economic growth.”
“We welcome EG Industries’ expansion project leveraging on cutting-edge 5G technology, which is in line with the government’s mandate for MIDA to spearhead rapid digital transformation in the manufacturing sector. This will pave the way for enhancement on productivity, job creation, and the deepening of Malaysian’s skill set,” added Ms. Lim Bee Vian.
The new plant will deploy Lights-Out methodology, creating a fully networked environment that digitises material flow for autonomous manufacturing. This will be managed by a remote team of highly-specialised experts responsible for data management, production planning and quality control.
Apart from Batu Kawan, the EMS player is extending its presence further to build Smart Warehouses and an International Procurement Centre featuring Kedah’s first Vendor Management Inventory (VMI) system to serve its own increasing requirements as well as that of the surrounding industrial cluster in Sg Petani, Kedah and Batu Kawan, Penang. The RM40 million facilities are slated for completion in 2024.
EG Industries’ Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dato’ Alex Kang said that the smart facilities were timely given the Group’s expansion journey, from providing Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) and full-product box-build assembly, to producing upstream 5G routers and soon 5G optical modules.
Dato’ Alex Kang, Group Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of EG Industries Berhad said, “Even before COVID, EG Industries had put strategies in place to improve our standing, by building our team’s mindset to emphasise on excellence, safety and innovation; serving more international customers to become their EMS partners; and improving efficiency of resource planning and sourcing, especially from local vendors. This has helped us to build our profile to retain our position as top 50 EMS players in the world today. While we are proud of our track record, we believe in enabling our fellow industries in Sg Petani to move forward as a collective unit. This is why we chose to build the Smart Warehouses and IPC, so that every industry player can utilise system-based technologies and have opportunity to scale up their operations.”
“We would like to cooperate more closely with Government authorities and agencies like MIDA to bring up the economic value in the state. Thus far our current plant in Sg. Petani has benefitted from grants to encourage exports and innovation, and we are hopeful for the continued support for future expansion plans. Apart from grants, we always appreciate open sessions for dialogue and feedback on current policies, so that Government agencies are kept abreast of latest developments and challenges of industry players, and formulate a mutually-beneficial solution,” added Dato’ Alex Kang.
Having achieved more than RM1 billion in annual revenue in the financial year ended 30 June 2022 (FY2022), the EMS player currently contributes approximately 2 per cent of Kedah’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Suggested Items
The New Chapter: Attracting ‘Generation Green’
03/28/2024 | Hannah Grace & Paige Fiet -- Column: The New ChapterIn the electronics industry, we talk a lot about sustainability in terms of recruitment and retention of the next generation of engineers. But what if the key to sustaining the industry long into the future is through the more common definition of the word? What if, for just a moment, we think about sustainability in terms of the environment and what we as an industry are doing to care for it? Because, if you weren’t aware, Gen Z cares tremendously about the environment and the actions companies are taking to preserve it. Without Gen Z joining the electronics industry’s workforce, we won’t be able to sustain the industry for much longer.
Accenture Invests in Sanctuary AI to Bring AI-Powered, Humanoid Robotics to Work Alongside Humans
03/27/2024 | BUSINESS WIREAccenture has made a strategic investment, through Accenture Ventures, in Sanctuary AI, a developer of humanoid general-purpose robots that are powered by AI and can perform a wide variety of work tasks quickly, safely and effectively.
Don Dennison Appointed to Roll Out KIC’s Latest Thermal Analysis System Software in the Northeast
03/26/2024 | KICKIC, a renowned pioneer in thermal process and temperature measurement solutions for electronics manufacturing, is pleased to announce the appointment of PIT Equipment Services, LLC, led by Don Dennison, as its representative for New York, New Jersey, and Eastern Pennsylvania.
iNEMI/IPC White Paper on Complex Integrated Systems Highlights Future Technology and Manufacturing Ecosystem Needs
03/25/2024 | IPCToday’s system solutions combine more varied functionality, such as digital, analog, optical, micro-mechanical, etc., packed into smaller form factors. As a result, electronics manufacturing has to deliver increasingly complex integration of diverse technologies with system designs that blur the distinction between chip, package, board, and assembly.
Seeking Employment: Meet Gary Turner
03/25/2024 | Barry Matties, I-Connect007Meet Gary Turner, a recent graduate from the University of Texas at Dallas with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s in material science and engineering. He is currently seeking employment in the industry. The following interview will allow you to learn about Gary and see if he might be a good candidate for a position you are looking to fill.