Leading audio equipment manufacturer set to open facility in Seberang Prai
ALEADING US audio equipment manufacturer for luxury automobile brands such as Audi, Ferrari, Maserati, Mercedes-benz and Porsche plans to make Penang its manufacturing base.
The company, headquartered in Massachusetts, in the US is expected to ink an agreement with the state government soon to establish a manufacturing facility in Seberang Prai.
It is learnt that the company is looking to invest between Us$100mil (Rm306mil) and Us$200mil for its facility to be located on an 8ha site that will be leased from Penang Development Corporation.
The investment is expected to generate about 1,000 job opportunities in Penang.
Founded in the 1960s, the privatelyowned US company is best known for its loudspeakers, noise-cancelling headsets, automotive sound systems, amplifiers and headphones.
The company also makes multimedia, home entertainment systems and speakers for homes.
The company’s audio systems are also used in cars from Buick, Holden, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Acura, Hummer, Pontiac, Saab and Alfa Romeo.
Besides the US, the company operates in over 130 countries in Europe, South America, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East, owning 16 international subsidiaries, eight manufacturing facilities and 100 retail stores worldwide, employing approximately 8,000 workers.
According to a report by research company Strategy Analytics, the rise in global vehicle production and increasing requirement for communications and navigation will see revenues from the infotainment semiconductor market increase from Us$4bil in 2012 to Us$6.4bil in 2018.
The same report also forecast that due to the rise in global vehicle production and the increased implementation of infotainment solutions for communications, entertainment and navigation, the total market value of original equipment manufacturing infotainment systems is expected to increase from Us$34bil in 2010 to more than Us$50bil in 2018.
Strategy Analytics is a global organisation with analysts based in Europe, Asia and the Americas, who specialise in analysing the market trends for the wireless devices, consumer electronics and automotive electronics industries.
Robert Bosch Car Multimedia division and Clarion (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd are two internationally known manufacturers of multimedia systems for the automotive industry currently producing from Penang. - The Star
