AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik AG

AT&S officially opens new plant and largest single investment in China

Business news for the stock market

Leoben (pta022/21.04.2016/12:45) - - After Shanghai, another production site opened in China: in the world's largest city, Chongqing - Largest single investment of the AT&S Group, totalling Eur 480 million; currently 1,700 employees - Key element in the expansion of technology leadership and further profitable growth of AT&S - Official opening ceremony with more than 100 guests from politics and business

AT&S, one of the global technology leaders in high-end printed circuit boards (PCBs), officially opened a new production site in Chongqing, Central China, with a ceremony on April 19.

The site consists of two plants: plant 1 started serial production with one production line in February; plant 2 is currently still being set up. With a total investment volume of roughly Eur 480 million by 2017, this will be the largest single investment of AT&S to date.

The opening ceremony took place in the presence of representatives of official China and Austria, business, the media, the city of Chongqing, customers, the Supervisory Board and the management of AT&S. The Austrian ambassador in Beijing, Irene Giner-Reichl, Chongqing's mayor, Huang Qifan, as well as AT&S Supervisory Board Chairman, Hannes Androsch, and CEO Andreas Gerstenmayer held speeches. After the ceremony, selected guests had the opportunity to visit parts of clean room production.

"Chongqing is a key element in the future of AT&S with a view to both technology and positioning, and to further profitable growth. With this plant, we are the first high-end IC substrate manufacturer in China and thus focus on the microelectronics emphasis pursued by the Chinese government at an early stage. Based on the new technologies, combined with the existing high-end technologies, the result is 'more than AT&S': we can offer the market new high-end connectivity and advanced packaging solutions and comprehensively position ourselves in the rapidly changing environment of the electronics industry with innovative technologies like IC substrates and wafer level packages for functional modules and the Internet of things. From the PCB top league to the connectivity solution and packaging Champions League, as it were", says Andreas Gerstenmayer, CEO of AT&S, and adds: "In the medium term, this will entail a new company dimension with revenue of roughly one billion, which will help us to finance future investments from our own cash flow to a greater extent. However, we expect a negative impact during the start-up phase."