(Yicai) Jan. 25 -- Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik has opened its first plant in Southeast Asia in Malaysia thanks to the experience the Austrian high-end printed circuit board and integrated circuit substrate supplier accumulated in China.

After just over two years of construction, AT&S announced the official opening of its campus in the Kulim Hi-Tech Park in the Malaysian state of Kedah. While the office building and plants started operation yesterday, mass production will kick off later this year.

Hundreds of engineers set to work at AT&S’ campus in the Kulim Hi-Tech Park were sent to Chongqing, where the company has three plants, for training in the past two years, Chief Executive Officer Andreas Gerstenmayer told Yicai.

Just like two of AT&S’ plants in Chongqing, the plants in Malaysia will produce cutting-edge IC substrates, which are essential to make high-performance data processors for computers, data centers, and artificial intelligence infrastructure, Gerstenmayer noted.

The new campus in the Kulim Hi-Tech Park, which has two plants, costed AT&S over EUR1 billion (USD1.1 billion). It will create almost 2,500 jobs until the end of the year.

The first plant will produce technologies for US semiconductor giant Advanced Micro Devices. AT&S is expected to provide package substrates for AMD’s newly released Mi300 flagship chip series, said Scott Aylor, corporate vice president for manufacturing at AMD.

The second plant is wind and water-tight. It will come on stream when the market environment for one of AT&S’ main customers improves, the company noted.

Malaysia is the world’s sixth-largest semiconductor exporter, with 600,000 employees in the industry. The state of Kedah has attracted investment from many companies in the global chip supply chain.

Editor: Futura Costaglione