EG Industries to start 5G component manufacturing through US technology transfer
21 Mar 2023
EG Industries Bhd (EG Industries) is set to start manufacturing new 5G Advanced High Speed Optical Signal Tranmitter and Receivers for the 5G wireless network (Optical Modules) using photonics and semidocnductor technologies that will be obtained through a technology transfer from its US-based customer Cambridge Industries Group (CIG).
In a statement on March 17, the Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) provider announced that the 5G components will be manufactured in a slated RM180 million Smart ‘LightsOut’ Factory 4.0 in Batu Kawan, Penang.
The Batu Kawan plant which commenced construction in January 2023 is hailed to be a game-changer for Northern Peninsular Malaysia as it expected to raise the skillset and competitiveness of the local workforce and while also creating more jobs as the plant aims to hire approximately 1,000 high-skilled talents upon completion in the first half of 2024.
The plant which will deploy smart Lights-Out methodology will be a fully networked environment that digitises material flow for autonomous manufacturing and will be managed by a remote team of highly-specialised experts responsible for data management, production planning and quality control.
In a statement, Lim Bee Vian, deputy chief executive officer of Malaysian Investment Development Authority’s (Mida) Investment Development department welcomed the expansion plans to be net positive for the country on the whole.
“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,” she said.
Apart from the upcoming Batu Kawan plant, EG Industries also announced that they there will be another RM40 million worth of projects in the form of Smart Warehouses and an International Procurement Centre in Kedah which will feature the state’s first Vendor Management Inventory (VMI) system that will serve its own increasing requirements within the surrounding industrial cluster in Sg Petani, Kedah and Batu Kawan, Penang.
EG Industries’ chief executive officer and executive director Datuk Alex Kang said, “We believe in enabling our fellow industries in Sg Petani to move forward as a collective unit.
“This is why we chose to buld the Smart Warehouses and IPC, so that every industry player can utilise system-based technologies and have the opportunity to scale up their operations.”
He added that EG Industries would be looking to cooperate more closely and communicate more openly with government linked organisations like MIDA in order to further drive up value in the EMS sector and economic value of the state.
The 40 million planned facilities are expected to be completed in 2024.
Source: The Borneo Post
