Malaysia: AT&S plant under construction holds first town hall meeting for employees

The construction of the new production facility in Kulim Hi-Tech Park, which will produce IC substrates from 2024, requires not only physical efforts. With 6000 employees, AT&S is building a complex, modern social structure.

Six months ago, in October 2021, the foundation stone was laid for the new AT&S plant in Malaysia. Since then, there has been a lot of activity in the vast area. The first buildings have gone up, and through drones’ cameras, the future facility’s basic structures can be recognized. After the first concrete piles were installed in November 2021, all 15,000 concrete piles required have now been set. All the roofs will be in place by autumn of this year.

At least as important as the physical substance of the high-tech production facility, however, are the people who will use these systems to manufacture IC substrates – those complex modules that integrate printed circuit boards with chips, sensors, and other components into a single unit. Team building is in full swing: Almost 200 employees met for their first town hall meeting at the end of March. This is the first step toward creating a world-class team before moving into the factory.

The future AT&S plant will require a large number of highly qualified employees. The search profiles include specialists and executives in electronics, mechanical engineering, chemistry, and business administration. At the same time, AT&S seeks 4,500 production employees who can work in a highly developed shop floor environment. A total of 6,000 jobs will be created in Kulim.

This enormous number of employees has to be recruited and prepared for their tasks. The first phase of the personnel expansion naturally consisted of setting up the necessary human resources structure. “We currently have 179 employees. By the end of September 2022, it should be 700,” said Sharifah Syed Harun, Head of HR, at the town hall meeting. “Most recently, as the 150th employee, we hired our future Quality Management System Supervisor. Not only do we deliver the best products, but we also look for the best minds. After all, people are our greatest treasure.”

New AT&S plant in Kulim, Malaysia, going up: From November 2021 to March 2022. A first town hall meeting for the first 200 employees has been held in March 2022.