Eppendorf To Shift Part Of Production To Penang, Serve Global Markets
GEORGE TOWN, July 29 (Bernama) -- German life science company Eppendorf will relocate part of the production of selected laboratory instruments from its existing facilities to its new manufacturing site in Penang, which will primarily serve the North American and European markets.
Eppendorf Group chief executive officer Dr Christine Munz said products manufactured at the Penang facility would be distributed worldwide.
“The products manufactured in Penang will serve international markets, basically the entire world. The main markets we will be serving from Penang are North America and Europe,” she told reporters after the signing of a lease agreement for the facility here today.
Munz said the project represented a transfer of production from other Eppendorf facilities rather than merely an expansion of the group’s existing manufacturing capacity.
She said the company had made a conscious decision to relocate the manufacturing portfolio to Penang due to the state’s infrastructure, skilled talent pool, geopolitical stability and established local supplier base.
“We believe this is the perfect location for us to build our future growth and meet our manufacturing needs in Penang,” she said.
Eppendorf will invest 40 million euros or about RM180 million in the modern integrated manufacturing facility at Bandar Cassia Technology Park, which will produce selected products under its Centrifuges and Instruments portfolio, including centrifuges, mixers and cyclers.
Production is expected to begin gradually in 2028, while the facility is projected to employ about 130 people by the end of 2029, with further expansion potential as operations ramp up.
The lease agreement was signed between Penang Development Corporation (PDC) and Eppendorf, witnessed by Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
Chow said Eppendorf’s investment reflected the confidence of global industry leaders in Penang’s industrial ecosystem and would strengthen the state’s capabilities in scientific and measuring equipment.
He said the state welcomed opportunities for the company to collaborate with local firms through technology development, localisation, supplier development and supply-chain strengthening.
Eppendorf, which established an office in Kuala Lumpur in 1995, develops, manufactures and distributes laboratory instruments, consumables and services worldwide.
-- BERNAMA