Australia's first large-scale Silicon Chip Manufacturing Plant Opened

The Premier of Victoria, the Honourable Steve Bracks today officially opened Australia's first large-scale silicon chip manufacturing plant at Robert Bosch Australia in Clayton.

Since August 1998, Bosch has invested $30 million in the new plant for silicon chips and diode manufacturing, replacing approximately $11 million in imports and creating 95 new jobs at Bosch.

It is estimated that a further 30 new jobs have been created amongst materials suppliers, transport companies, skills development programs and technology partners.

The plant has an annual capacity of approximately 90 million diodes. However, weeks before the opening, Robert Bosch Australia's parent company in Germany awarded the Australian subsidiary manufacturing rights to a further 57 million diodes.

The extra volume means that Bosch Australia will manufacture close to 150 million diodes per year, giving the plant one-third of the total world automotive diode market.

Bosch will invest an additional $20 million in the next six months to install an extra assembly line and upgrade the plant's technology for faster production.

"We consider it as a confirmation for Australia's - and in particular Victoria's healthy investment climate for hi-tech manufacturing that the Bosch Group has decided to further increase the manufacturing capacity here in Clayton," Kurt Liedtke, Managing Director of Robert Bosch Australia, said.