Philips Semiconductors (Netherlands) announced that it will expand its presence in China by building a new IC assembly and test plant at the Suzhou Industrial Park in eastern China. Completion of the two-phase construction is expected by 2006. By this time, 3,500 jobs will have been created, including 500 engineering posts. It is expected that the majority of the positions will be filled locally.
Final capacity of the new Chinese Philips facility will be 750 million units. Actual production will begin as early as the second quarter of 2002, after completion of the first phase of construction and, on completion, the new factory will cover an area of more than 100,000 square meters.
“We have long realized the importance of China in our strategy for growth and have made significant investment in Asia Pacific as a whole in recent years," explained Arthur van der Poel, president and CEO of Philips Semiconductors. “This new facility in Suzhou is part of our long-term growth strategy. As we have demonstrated in the past, we look to the long-term needs of our customers, while also managing through the short-term market developments."
