Kuala Lumpur, 5 Sept 2022 — KOA Corporation, a major manufacturer of resistors and electric components since 1940, is committed to investing in Malaysia within a period of two years.
Senior Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said the Japanese group, one of the world’s largest electrical and electronics companies, is also expected to continue investing beyond 2024 in a new factory that will adopt automation in its manufacturing process, ramping up its production capacity to up to 10 billion pieces per month.
“This latest investment will definitely catapult further transfer of technology and knowledge as well as develop local supply chain and provide opportunities for local talents to upskill,” he said on his Twitter account in conjunction with his Trade and Investment Mission to Japan.
Mohamed Azmin met with KOA Corporation board director and managing director Akira Nonomura as well as board director Katsuhiko Momose.
According to him, KOA Denko is currently producing thick film chip resistors which accounts for 50 per cent of the total sales of the company, which currently employs almost 800 workers of whom 70 per cent are Malaysians.
KOA Denko’s facility in Melaka produces 4.3 billion pieces of thick film chip resistor pieces with a growth rate that is expected to expand at 18 per cent per year.
“I was apprised that in the next four years, the production capacity will increase to 8.2 billion pieces per month,” he said.
He said demand for KOA’s product is expected to increase especially from the automotive sector as well as other applications, as the company has decided to build the largest production plant in the world, in Melaka.
Mohamed Azmin said Malaysia is recognised as one of the investment hubs in the global semiconductor industry, particularly in the areas of assembly and test as well as equipment manufacturing.
“Underpinned by its five decades of manufacturing excellence which has paved the way for sustainable industry development, we are committed to strengthening its industrial cluster further,” he said.
“I assured both Mr. Akira and Mr. Katsuhiko that KOA Corporation has made the right move to expand their business growth in Malaysia and MIDA stands ready to facilitate their operations in the region,” he added.
— Akses Malaysia