GEORGE TOWN: Uncertainties from the US-China trade war has caused the US–based Sanmina Corp, which has taken over the production business of Motorola Solutions here to temporary relocate from China to Penang.
This was disclosed by Motorola Solutions Malaysia Sdn Bhd’s deputy managing director John Andersen, who said that the relocation was an ongoing process and he attributed part of the exercise due to the prolonged US-China trade attrition.
It was only in 2012 that a production arm of Sanmina – SCI Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd, Kuching (Sanmina-SCI) had decided to relocate to its new facility in China from Sarawak and now a role reversal is taking place.
Andersen said that Sanmina, which took over Motorola Solutions’ facility in Bayan Lepas in early 2016, was relocating its production of the latter’s products to Penang.
It is learnt that the relocation is seamless as Sanmina and Motorola have cemented an efficient way of manufacturing without the relocation of heavy machinery.
Andersen was speaking during a media preview of Motorola’s sprawling research and development base in Penang – held in conjunction with the 45th anniversary celebrations of the American electronics giant presence here.
Sanmina is an integrated manufacturing services company, which is working with Motorola Solutions on manufacturing in Reynosa (Mexico), Kunshan (China), Campinas (Brazil).
In early 2016, Sanmina took over the Motorola Solutions’ production plant in the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone here.
The takeover went smooth and the production output has stabilised in view of the steady global demand for electronic components, which are the cornerstones of Penang’s high tech manufacturing.
A spokesman with Invest Penang said that the relocation of one of Sanmina’s production arms back to Penang is an illustration that the state stands to benefit if the US-China trade war continues unabated.
It is a good prognosis for the state’s manufacturing sector, and it has begun to show when Penang recorded RM8.8 billion of total approved manufacturing investment in the first quarter of this year, up 768% year-on-year and surpassed the whole of 2018’s amount of RM5.6 billion, said the spokesman.
