Credit : Bernama's X
BATU KAWAN, November 12: German life science company Eppendorf SE has begun work on its first manufacturing plant in Southeast Asia, a facility in Penang intended to bring production closer to customers in the region, as reported by Bernama.
Chief executive officer Dr Christine Munz said Asia Pacific had become one of the company’s fastest-growing markets, making regional manufacturing increasingly important if that growth was to be sustained and directed towards customers. “It is so important to be within the region, to manufacture within the region, for the region, to ensure that growth is sustainable and directed to our customers,” she said at the groundbreaking ceremony in Batu Kawan on Thursday.
The plant, at Bandar Cassia Technology Park, is a 40 million euro investment and will make selected products from Eppendorf’s centrifuges and instruments range for laboratories and scientific workplaces worldwide. The 4.85-hectare, or 48,500-square-metre, site is planned to have a built-up area of about 16,000 square metres, or 172,222 square feet, covering production, warehousing, offices, quality-related functions and logistics facilities.
Production is expected to begin in 2028, with full operational maturity targeted by 2030. The company expects to create about 130 jobs by the end of 2029. Eppendorf has been in Malaysia since 1995 through its Kuala Lumpur office, and the Penang project marks its shift from commercial and administrative operations in the country into manufacturing.
Munz said the Penang facility would also help the company stay competitive, widen its product portfolio and support its business growth globally. The groundbreaking was attended by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, InvestPenang chief executive officer Datuk Seri Loo Lee Lian and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority’s Penang director, Muhammad Ghaddaffi Sardar Mohamed.
In a statement after the event, MIDA chief executive officer Datuk Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim Sikh Abdul Majid said the investment reflected Malaysia’s position as a competitive destination for high-value, technology-driven manufacturing. He said that, aligned with the New Industrial Master Plan 2030, the new Penang facility would strengthen the country’s life sciences and medical technology ecosystem while supporting skilled jobs, supplier development and deeper integration into global value chains.
“MIDA is committed to working with Eppendorf and our partners in Penang throughout the implementation and the project’s progress towards production,” he added.
The groundbreaking follows an agreement signed in July, when Eppendorf announced the same 40 million euro investment and said production of the first products was expected in 2028. At that time, Munz said Malaysia had been an important part of the company’s history in Asia Pacific for more than 30 years, and that the Penang plant would expand its global manufacturing network and create a production platform in Southeast Asia to support long-term growth. The official announcement also said the site would make selected products from the centrifuges and instruments portfolio for global laboratory markets.
Penang has long been a centre for electronics and export manufacturing, and state and federal agencies have been trying to draw higher-value projects in medical technology and the life sciences to the Batu Kawan industrial area. Eppendorf, which is headquartered in Germany, supplies laboratory equipment used in research, healthcare and industry. Thursday’s ceremony, as reported by Bernama, marked the formal start of work on the company’s first plant in Southeast Asia.
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