KUALA LUMPUR (May 7): Bose Corporation, a US-based company that specialises in audio equipment, is to build a manufacturing facility in Malaysia, marking its first big venture into the Asian region.
Vice president manufacturing and global supply chain Bryan Fontaine said the facility to be located in Batu Kawan, Penang, on 9.2 hectares of land, will cater to its Asia-Pacific (APAC) business.
"Scheduled for opening in mid-2013, the new facility will manufacture and distribute Bose products for the company's APAC business which includes Australia, China, India, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and the Asean countries," he added.
He was speaking to reporters at the announcement of the project at the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) office here on Monday.
Also present was Mida chairman Tan Sri Dr Sulaiman Mahbob.
Fontaine, who declined to disclose the total investment in Malaysia, said it would be multi-phased and multi-layered, and eventually see the plant expand to 600,000 square feet.
"We know that Malaysia is the right place for our investment as the country knows how to protect it.
"We also know that intellectual property (IP) protection for our products and confidence from our customers, will be safeguarded here in Malaysia," he said, when speaking on the rationale of choosing the country.
Bose Corporation has at present five manufacturing facilities in Framingham (Massachusetts), Columbia (South Carolina), San Luis R.C.(Mexico), Tijuana(Mexico) and Carrickmacross (Ireland).
When asked about a news report that Bose Corporation was closing one of its manufacturing facilities in the United States to move to Malaysia, Fontaine said: "We have not closed any operation in the US. We are reconsidering our footprint in the country but have not closed any operation."
Bose Corporation was founded in 1964 by Dr Amar G Bose, then professor of electrical engineering, at the Massachusetts Institute of TECHNOLOGY [] (MIT).
As an MIT graduate student in the 1950s, Bose decided to purchase a new stereo system.
He was disappointed to find that the speakers with impressive technical specifications failed to reproduce the realism of a "live" performance.
The quest for better sound was on.
The company, which has over 9,000 employees, recorded over US$2.5 billion (RM7.68 billion) in annual sales for 2011. — Bernama
Vice president manufacturing and global supply chain Bryan Fontaine said the facility to be located in Batu Kawan, Penang, on 9.2 hectares of land, will cater to its Asia-Pacific (APAC) business.
"Scheduled for opening in mid-2013, the new facility will manufacture and distribute Bose products for the company's APAC business which includes Australia, China, India, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and the Asean countries," he added.
He was speaking to reporters at the announcement of the project at the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) office here on Monday.
Also present was Mida chairman Tan Sri Dr Sulaiman Mahbob.
Fontaine, who declined to disclose the total investment in Malaysia, said it would be multi-phased and multi-layered, and eventually see the plant expand to 600,000 square feet.
"We know that Malaysia is the right place for our investment as the country knows how to protect it.
"We also know that intellectual property (IP) protection for our products and confidence from our customers, will be safeguarded here in Malaysia," he said, when speaking on the rationale of choosing the country.
Bose Corporation has at present five manufacturing facilities in Framingham (Massachusetts), Columbia (South Carolina), San Luis R.C.(Mexico), Tijuana(Mexico) and Carrickmacross (Ireland).
When asked about a news report that Bose Corporation was closing one of its manufacturing facilities in the United States to move to Malaysia, Fontaine said: "We have not closed any operation in the US. We are reconsidering our footprint in the country but have not closed any operation."
Bose Corporation was founded in 1964 by Dr Amar G Bose, then professor of electrical engineering, at the Massachusetts Institute of TECHNOLOGY [] (MIT).
As an MIT graduate student in the 1950s, Bose decided to purchase a new stereo system.
He was disappointed to find that the speakers with impressive technical specifications failed to reproduce the realism of a "live" performance.
The quest for better sound was on.
The company, which has over 9,000 employees, recorded over US$2.5 billion (RM7.68 billion) in annual sales for 2011. — Bernama
