Estek Automation opens RM20m, 50,000 sq ft Batu Kawan plant

Estek Automation Sdn Bhd, a Penang maker of semiconductor inspection and die-sorting machines, opened a RM20 million manufacturing plant in Batu Kawan Industrial Park on 29 October 2026. Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow officiated. The plant has about 50,000 sq ft of floor space and puts the company's semiconductor equipment making, contract manufacturing and AI-driven solutions under one roof.

The plant

• Address: Lot PT6055, Jalan Cassia Selatan 6/5, Taman Perindustrian Batu Kawan, Mukim 13, 14110 Simpang Ampat. Estek's website now gives this as the company's only address
• Size and cost: about 50,000 sq ft of floor space, for RM20 million
• What it will make: die sorters, wafer inspection systems and other automation equipment, plus contract work assembling and integrating equipment for other companies
• Why: founder and chief executive Jacky Lee Joo Seng said the plant adds manufacturing capacity, more room for engineering and R&D, and helps attract skilled staff
• Not disclosed: land size, ownership terms and the number of jobs
• Guests: Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association president Datuk Seri Wong Siew Hai, InvestPenang chief executive Datuk Seri Loo Lee Lian and MIDA Penang director Muhammad Ghaddaffi Sardar Mohamed

Where Estek was before

Estek's earlier base was in Sungai Tiram, Bayan Lepas. When it raised money on the pitchIN equity crowdfunding platform in July 2024, its address was No. 53, Jalan Sungai Tiram 2, Nyaman Mutiara Light Industrial Park 2.

In August 2023, InvestPenang's company profile listed 6,300 sq ft of manufacturing space in Bayan Lepas and 50 employees. It also listed a 65,000 sq ft plant in Batu Kawan, planned for 2024. The plant that opened this week is smaller and about two years later than that plan.

Neither the company nor the reports say whether Estek has given up the Sungai Tiram premises.

The company

• Founded: 2015 in Penang, by Jacky Lee Joo Seng
• Products: die sorters for wafers up to 300 mm, a microscopic wafer inspection system that finds defects down to 1 micron, other wafer inspection systems and a lens sorter for smartphone, automotive and AR/VR optics
• Markets: the semiconductor, medical, photonics and automotive industries. Sales and service representatives cover Singapore, the Philippines, Taiwan, China, Korea, Thailand and the US
• Funding: on 15 July 2024 Estek raised RM4.6 million from 35 investors on pitchIN for up to 11.43% of the company, which valued it at RM35.65 million
• Group: its website names a sister company, Estek Manufacturing Sdn Bhd

The numbers

• Per sq ft: RM20 million ÷ 50,000 sq ft ≈ RM400 per sq ft of floor space. The reports do not split the sum between land, building and machinery
• Growth: 50,000 sq ft is about eight times the 6,300 sq ft of manufacturing space Estek had in 2023
• Against its valuation: RM20 million is more than half the RM35.65 million the company was valued at in July 2024
• Neighbours: on nearby Persiaran Cassia Selatan 6, UWC plans a 620,696 sq ft factory at about RM294 psf of built-up area (our report)
• Peer: fellow vision-inspection maker TT Vision is building a RM92 million factory on Plot 81A in Bayan Lepas (our report)

The state has also set aside 10 acres in the same park for a campus for automation, test and equipment companies like Estek (our report).