GEORGE TOWN, Jan 27 — Swiss-based company VAT Group AG will invest RM320 million in its latest expansion project in Penang, a new plant in the Batu Kawan Industrial Park.

The supplier of high-performance vacuum valves held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the 39,200-sq-m plant today.

Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman, who represented Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, officiated the event and said the new plant is scheduled for completion in 2024.

"This expansion project will create 600 new jobs in the next five years, bringing VAT’s total headcount in Penang to over 1,200,” he said.

VAT chief executive officer Mike Allison said the company chose to invest further in Penang as the team here has been able to ramp up production when needed in recent years, to meet the demands of a fast-growing market.

"In addition, several of our largest OEM customers have operations in the region and boosting our production here will enhance our ability to collaborate with them more effectively and deliver value faster and more efficiently,” he said.

The launch of VAT’s third expansion in Penang will increase the firm’s production capacity over the period of 2022 and 2024.

Once completed and at full capacity, the new plant is expected to account for about 50 per cent of VAT’s total global production capacity by 2028.

VAT Manufacturing Malaysia will be the primary supplier for the company’s customers in South Korea, Japan, China and the rest of Asia.

VAT first set up its manufacturing facility in Penang in 2012 and started production in April 2013 with an initial investment of RM102 million in a 6,000-sq-m factory.

The company launched its second extension in September 2019 with a RM165 million investment to expand to another 24,000-sq-m of space.