Taiwan’s E&R opens Melaka chip carrier-tape plant on 13 Oct
点击这里看中文版本 →
- Taiwan’s E&R Engineering opens a plant at Lot 24, Phase III of the Batu Berendam Free Trade Zone in Melaka on 13 October 2026, through its new subsidiary E&R Semiconductor (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.
- The plant makes embossed carrier tapes and cover tapes for chip makers and assembly-and-test firms, taking over part of the work of E&R’s China plant. Mass production starts in early 2027, with 50 jobs.
- In 2023 E&R said its Malaysian base would be in Kuala Lumpur and running by 2025. It has not disclosed the plant’s size or cost, or whether it owns the factory.
E&R Engineering Corp, a Kaohsiung-based maker of semiconductor packaging equipment listed on the Taipei Exchange (8027), opens a plant at Lot 24, Phase III of the Batu Berendam Free Trade Zone in Melaka on 13 October 2026. The factory belongs to its new subsidiary, E&R Semiconductor (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, and will make packaging materials rather than machines: embossed carrier tapes and cover tapes, which hold and protect chips on reels between factories. It is producing samples for customers to qualify now, plans mass production in early 2027 and expects to create 50 jobs.
The plant
- Site: Lot 24, Batu Berendam Free Trade Zone Phase III, Melaka; the opening ceremony is at 9am on 13 October
- Products: embossed carrier tapes and cover tapes for chip makers and outsourced assembly-and-test (OSAT) companies in Southeast Asia
- Why Malaysia: E&R is moving part of its packaging-materials production from its plant in China, which it says is still growing, to Malaysia while adding capacity
- Also on site: a base for E&R's equipment field-service engineers; the company plans to hire local engineers for technical support and after-sales service
- Not disclosed: the size of the land and building, whether E&R bought or rents the factory, and the cost
From a Kuala Lumpur plan to a Melaka plant
- September 2023: at SEMICON Taiwan, E&R said a Malaysian production base for its packaging materials would start operating in 2025, alongside its plants in Dongguan and Wuxi and a new one in Nantong, China
- September 2023: MoneyDJ reported that Kuala Lumpur was E&R's first choice, with completion targeted for the second quarter of 2024
- October 2026: the plant opens in Melaka instead, with mass production due in early 2027
Who E&R is
Founded in 1994, E&R makes laser and plasma machines for chip packaging, among them laser cutting and drilling systems and plasma cleaners, and it sells packaging materials. Its president is KS Chen; the Malaysian plant is run by general manager AK Ong.
The neighbourhood
In the same free trade zone, a Samsung C&T and Kerjaya Prospek joint venture won a RM1.45 billion contract in October 2022 to build Texas Instruments' TIEM2 bump, probe, assembly and test factory. Elsewhere in Melaka, the US test-equipment maker Cohu runs its largest factory anywhere, 117,000 sq ft in Ayer Keroh, which it has owned since December 2024 (our profile).
Cover image: E&R Engineering's opening invitation, via PR Newswire.
Setting up a factory or plant? Buying / selling industrial property or land in Malaysia? Reach out to Scott now.
Related news
TMK Chemical to buy CCM and its nine plants for RM939.9m
TMK Chemical will buy Chemical Company of Malaysia from Batu Kawan Bhd for RM939.9m in cash and shares, taking nine plants on about 122 acres in five states.
Scientex buys 503 acres in Pulai, Johor, at RM26.50 psf
Scientex is buying 502.6 acres of freehold land in Mukim Pulai, Johor, from a Leong Hup group company for RM580.2m, its fourth Pulai land purchase since 2017.
WTK sells 6-acre Perai factory site to NationGate for RM38m
WTK’s tape maker Loytape is selling three leasehold lots in the Perai Industrial Estate, 6.08 acres in all, to NationGate for RM38 million, about RM143 psf.