Last year, I chanced upon a press conference by US-based multi-national company National Instruments to announce their investment of USD80 million in Penang. So this year, it should be appropriate that I follow up on this matter.
Yesterday, National Instruments' vice-president of manufacturing Rob Poterfield (the one shaking hands, on the right) was in Penang to ink a land lease agreement with the Penang Development Corporation. The occasion was witnessed by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P Ramasamy.
At a press conference after the event, Poterfield said that about 1,500 jobs would be created when they begin recruiting workers for its planned research and development facility in Batu Maung. Those recruited would be sent for extensive on-the-job training at the National Instruments headquarters in Austin, Texas, for a year.
“We have secured 6.8ha of land in Batu Maung for the facility which cost us about RM36mil. We hope the site can be ready by next year. The company is developing the facility as part of our ongoing plan to expand our global operations."
"Malaysia offers an exceptionally skilled workforce that can help National Instruments provide engineers and scientists with the hardware and software they need to develop the innovative applications that are improving our world," said Robert Canik, vice-president of R&D for instrument and distributed control at National Instruments. "This talent-rich environment was a key factor in selecting Malaysia, and Penang in particular, as the site for our new R&D operations facility, and we are excited that the people of Penang will be an integral part of our companys success."
The company develops and manufactures software as well as hardware for engineers and scientists. Poterfield said the recruitment included posts in manufacturing, product development, R&D, shared services, information technology and finance. “In the next few years we plan to invest about RM280mil in Penang,” Poterfield said.
"National Instruments is bringing high-value jobs to Penang and we are confident that the people here have the training and aptitude necessary to deliver tremendous value to National Instruments," said Guan Eng. "Penang offers many resources that make it a competitive business environment, and we are pleased that National Instruments is making such a significant contribution here."
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