Multinational engineering giant, Bosch has announced the building a new wafer fab in Dresden, Germany, as part of its commitment to investing in Internet of Things (IoT) technology.
The new location will reportedly manufacture 12-inch wafer chips for semiconductors used in IoT technology and a growing number of mobility applications.
Semiconductors enable manufacturing, mobility and homes to become increasingly connected, electrified, and automated.
Bosch’s move into 12-inch wafer technology is hoped to enable the company to offer economies of scale and to meet the rising demand for semiconductors, triggered by the growth in smart homes and cities.
Chairman of the Robert Bosch GmbH, Dr Volkmar Denner explained: “Semiconductors are the core components of all electronic systems. By extending our semiconductor manufacturing capacity, we are giving ourselves a sound basis for the future and strengthening our competitiveness.”
The construction of the high-tech plant is expected to be completed by the end of 2019, and the manufacturing operations are expected to start towards the end of 2021.
As stated by Bosch, the total investment of the project will come to around €1bn, and the new factory is expected to create in the region of 700 new jobs.
The new fab marks a key milestone in Bosch’s IoT technology growth strategy, since the semiconductor market is set to grow by more than 5% annually up to 2019, with the mobility and IoT market segments growing especially strongly.
With a rich heritage in the manufacture of semiconductors, Bosch has been making several varieties, particularly focused on application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), power semiconductors and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) for more than 45 years.
Today, 75% of Bosch’s MEMS sensors are used in consumer and communications electronics applications and can be found in three out of four smartphones.
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