OSRAM AG, light-emitting diode (LED) manufacturer, laid the foundation for its Wuxi, China, plant, in a ceremony attended by high-ranking representatives of the Jiangsu province.
The groundbreaking begins construction; the back-end LED packaging facility is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2013. The Wuxi plant will be 100,000sq.m. with a “low three-digit million euro” investment from OSRAM over 5 years. It is also securing comprehensive support from its Chinese partners. In the final completion stage, the new assembly plant will be able to accommodate up to 1,600 employees.
OSRAM will continue to produce its LED chips at its Regensburg (Germany) and Penang (Malaysia) front-end plants. The Wuxi LED facility was announced earlier this year. It will join Penang in performing back-end packaging.
“Growing at a remarkable rate, Jiangsu Province’s LED industry is at the forefront in China. We will fully support Osram’s development in Wuxi with the highest quality service, and we also hope Osram can expand its investment in Wuxi to have the plant up and running as soon as possible,” said Xueyong Li, Governor of Jiangsu Province.
OSRAM said it based the packaging facility in Wuxi because China is a huge potential LED market. “With highly skilled personnel, a good infrastructure and experienced partners, Wuxi provides the best conditions for our new LED assembly,” said Aldo Kamper, CEO of the Osram Opto Semiconductors business unit.
In fiscal year 2011, Osram generated about one fifth of its revenue in the Asia-Pacific region, where it employs over 16,000 employees, roughly half in China.
OSRAM is part of the Industry Sector of Siemens and one of the two leading lighting manufacturers in the world.