PENANG, MALAYSIA – TTM Technologies broke ground at a new manufacturing plant in Penang, Malaysia. The proposed capital investment for this plant is $130 million through 2025.

TTM’s expansion here is in direct response to customer requirements for advanced technology PCB supply chain resiliency and diversification in regions beyond China, the firm says. The new plant will serve TTM’s global commercial markets, including networking communications, data center computing, and medical, industrial, and instrumentation.

The automated plant will be built on approximately 27 acres of industrial land at Penang Science Park. Construction is expected to take 12 to 15 months, followed by equipment installations in the middle of 2023. Pilot production is targeted to begin in the second half of 2023, with volume production commencing in 2024, gradually ramping to full phase 1 capacity in 2025.

TTM expects the new plant to achieve run-rate revenue of approximately $180 million in 2025. The factory has also been planned to support a 25% upside phase 2 expansion.

“Penang is recognized as one of the major players in the global semiconductor industry, particularly in the areas of assembly and test, as well as equipment manufacturing,” said YAB Tuan Chow Kon Yeow, chief minister, Penang. “Underpinned by its five decades of manufacturing excellence, which has paved the way for sustainable industry development, the state is committed to further strengthening its industrial cluster. With PCBs and substrates being an emerging subsector in Penang, I am confident the addition of TTM will sharpen the local talent’s capability in advanced PCB technology solutions.

“The state, via InvestPenang, strives to bolster our efforts to outpace investors’ expectations by providing continuous facilitation and utmost support along the journey. Penang welcomes TTM to be part of our robust industrial ecosystem, and I look forward to establishing a long-standing relationship with TTM in the years to come.”

“MIDA is confident Malaysia’s comprehensive E&E ecosystem, the capability of our local talent, and our well-developed semiconductor supply chain that supports long-term growth provide vital building blocks for investors like TTM to expand in the region,” said Lim Bee Vian, deputy CEO, investment development, MIDA. “We anticipate TTM’s project will have a ripple effect on job creation and develop our local supply-chain capabilities to meet the rapidly changing requirements of our E&E industry segments, while encouraging innovation in emerging fields. We believe this groundbreaking is only the beginning of a greater, more exciting future for our local industry and people, as well as TTM’s growth.”  

“This is an exciting day for TTM,” said Tom Edman, president and CEO, TTM. “Today’s ceremony marks the start of an important new chapter in our mission to support our customers with differentiated high value-add engineering and PCB product solutions on a global basis. As an early mover into Southeast Asia for the production of advanced technology PCBs, TTM is responding to our customers’ needs for supply-chain resiliency, regional diversification and growth capacity.

“We appreciate our new working relationship with MIDA and the Penang government. Their support has been invaluable, and we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial business relationship as TTM grows its business presence in Penang.”