Infineon eyes growth with wafer fab boost

Infineon eyes growth with wafer fab boost

Infineon is said to be lining up a boost in production for automotive chips as well as chips for smart cards and security devices

Friday, October 09, 2009

MUNICH: Chip major Infineon, which had been pushed to bad times earlier this year following a sharp decline in the industry, is inching back to the growth path by lining up expansion.

Infineon is said to be lining up a boost in production for automotive chips as well as chips for smart cards and security devices. It would also look at sprucing up is wireless communication products as they are found to have added demand of late.

As part of a new strategy for growth, the company is now planning to expand its manufacturing line at Dresden in Germany. The company's Dresden production site is fully utilized as of now and it has become necessary that it need to see a major expansion.

Infineon will look at higher output by pumping in close to $14.7 million into manufacturing equipment at the plant, though it hasn’t made public as to what kind of manufacturing equipment it would be investing in.

It is expected that the company would complete its investment by the start of year 2010, and would be ready with the manufacturing capacity expansion before the end of the first quarter of next year.

Analysts added that the pumping in of money into the Dresden line would also see the addition of close to 70 jobs at the site. The site currently has employee strength of 1800.

©CIOL Bureau