Many companies see the SEA region as the next phase in their product lifecycle. “Hittech has been there for almost 20 years, so we are way past being opportunistic,” says Hittech Group COO, Marco Verloop.
Marco states: “In 2007, we established our assembly facility in Kuala Lumpur and relocated the first Semiconductor modules to Southeast Asia. In 2012, Hittech Wemac in Penang was acquired to enhance our machining capabilities. With the handover of the keys to the new facility, we are now entering a significant new phase for our presence in Southeast Asia.”
Paul Morach is the managing director of Hittech Wemac and joined the company in Penang, Malaysia, in 2018. Paul: “We follow the group’s local for local strategy by servicing clients not only in Malaysia but also in countries such as Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea. The benefits of this strategy are numerous, including improved cultural understanding, better time zone alignment with faster response times, cost efficiency, support for the local economy, and reduced long-distance shipping.”
Ron Thijssens is the project manager responsible for the new building in Penang. His mission is to ensure the growth plans can be realised in a larger facility with space for a more advanced process. Ron: “We managed to integrate machining and assembly in one location, but in two separate buildings to prevent contamination. Once fully developed, this new facility will be 100,000 sq ft with up to 15,000 sq ft of clean room space. This vertical integration of our process is a crucial step in our ‘local for local’ philosophy, which involves developing solutions in Europe while relocating some of our production and assembly services to Malaysia.”
In the photo from left to right: Teng Huat Ng, Ron Thijssens, Paul Morach, Marco Verloop, Chris Borgers, KK Lim, KY Lim, JQ Lim and Peter Khoe Ming Choo.
Special thanks to InteRealtor Malaysia and AA Innovation for making this possible.
Vertical integration at our Malaysia facility
