First phase opens in Kedah
Éolane, an electronic manufacturing services company from France, inaugurated a plant in Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Kedah, Malaysia. First-phase investment totalled €8.7 million, or RM45 million. MIDA identified digital production equipment and systems at the facility.
The company expects around 150 first-phase jobs and plans further capacity expansion in a second phase. Chief executive Olivier Clement attributed the choice of Kulim to Kedah's infrastructure, workforce and manufacturing capabilities. Bernama's opening coverage.
Digital manufacturing in the national industrial plan
Malaysia launched its New Industrial Master Plan 2030 on Sep 1, 2023. The policy includes an ambition to transform 3,000 factories into smart factories by 2030. Its implementation framework combines four missions, 21 strategies and 62 action plans, supported by financing, talent development, the investor journey and governance. Nine mission-based projects are intended to support higher-value industrial activities, including factory digitalisation.
The government proposed RM8.2 billion for the missions and supporting measures over 2024–2030. A strategic co-investment fund was planned for mission-based projects, alongside an industrial development fund covering research commercialisation, technology adoption, workforce development and industrial clusters. The industrial-plan framework identifies several related goals:
- Greater economic complexity and higher-value jobs.
- Stronger domestic business linkages.
- Development of new and existing industrial clusters.
Electronics investment approvals before the opening
Electrical and electronics projects accounted for RM85.4 billion in Malaysian manufacturing investment approvals during 2023, equivalent to 56.2% of that sector's total. Manufacturing approvals reached RM152 billion, up 80.3% from RM84.3 billion in 2022. Foreign investment represented RM128.5 billion, or 84.5%, of manufacturing approvals; domestic investment contributed RM23.5 billion. These were approved projects and associated investment values, rather than a measurement of completed factory output.
Manufacturing projects were expected to generate 73,939 jobs, including 30,407 management, professional, technical, supervisory and skilled positions. Across all sectors, Kedah attracted RM28.7 billion in approved investments in 2023. MIDA also counted 2,386 manufacturing projects approved during 2021–2023: 74% had reached implementation stages ranging from factory construction and machinery installation to production. Another 24.7% remained in planning. These national figures were released on Feb 29, 2024, before the Kulim inauguration.
Expansion plans and the inauguration
The ceremony involved Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, MIDA Kedah director Mohd Rushdan Mohd Ghazali and Clement. MIDA chief executive Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim Sikh Abdul Majid linked the facility with the national industrial plan.
Clement expects the plant to serve demand in Kedah, Malaysia and the wider Asian region. Éolane's sustainability roadmap includes ambitions to reduce energy use and improve productivity.
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