Panasonic has announced that the company will build a new factory to expand Panasonic Semiconductor Co Ltd (PSCSZ) in Suzhou, China, at an investment of $93.6 million (10 billion yen). Panasonic is the brand by which the Japanese company Matsushita Electric Industrial is known.

The PSCSZ plant, established in December 2001, started operation as a production site for discrete semiconductor devices in response to the rapid increase in demand in China for digital consumer electronics.

The new factory construction at PSCSZ is based on the company's future growth strategy that calls for expanding its assembly production structure on a global scale. Panasonic reported that the new factory is being built on the same factory site where the existing first building of PSCSZ is located.

"This new factory will utilize more advanced production methods that suit the Chinese environment and adopt a new management method that fully integrates an IT system that will make the factory a strong competitor on the global stage. The factory will produce advanced semiconductor products including integrated circuits in addition to general-purpose discrete devices and camera modules for mobile phones," the Osaka-based company said in a statement, withholding further details.

Total floor space on the new building is expected to be 15,530-square meters. Construction of the building is expected to start in late January with production expected to start in October.

In 2007, PSCSZ employed 3,860 and produced 4.4 billion semiconductor pieces.

Panasonic also this month announced plans to invest $862 million in an image sensor fab.

By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News - Electronic News