ASE to invest in IC packaging, testing in Mexico

Taipei, Nov. 9 (CNA) ASE Technology Holding Co., the world's largest IC packaging and testing services provider, has taken a step toward investing in Mexico by purchasing a "significant" parcel of land in the country to build a production base.

In a statement, ASE Technology said through its California-based subsidiary ISE Labs Inc., that it has acquired a large plot in the Axis 2 Industrial Park located in Tonalá of Guadalajara in western Mexico. Guadalajara is the capital city of the state of Jalisco.

ASE Technology said it was a strategic land purchase which demonstrated the company's long-term commitment to Jalisco and the establishment of a footprint for future expansion in the country.

According to ASE Technology, its investments in Jalisco will focus on IC packaging and testing services and the presence in the Mexican state is expected to help the company extend its reach globally and penetrate the North American market.

Jalisco currently accounts for 70 percent of the semiconductor market in Mexico, ASE Technology said, adding that the semiconductor industry generates significant value in the economy due to the high-paying jobs required to successfully run operations, as well as the continued innovation across the state's technology sector.

ASE Technology said its IC packaging and testing hub in Jalisco will create more than 500 jobs in the first year of its operations, adding the company will work closely with educational institutions in the state on workforce development initiatives to recruit skilled engineers and technicians.

To ensure the recruitment of the highly specialized talent required for operations in Jalisco, ASE Technology said, the Jalisco State Ministry of Economic Development, the Jalisco State Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology and the Jalisco State Ministry of Education will facilitate a strong link between ISE Labs and the region's educational institutions and chambers of commerce.

According to ASE Technology, ISE Labs provides a wide range of services such as test engineering support, production test services, test program development, test interface and reliability test hardware, electrostatic discharge, high power burn-in solutions, environmental testing, mechanical testing and failure analysis.

ISE Labs opened a second facility in Silicon Valley in July, doubling its research and development lab and business space to more than 150,000 square meters with the new facility in San Jose and reinforced its commitment to Silicon Valley by expanding its footprint in North America.

ISE Labs' original Silicon Valley facility in Fremont will expand its set of test functions, including automated test equipment test program development.

According to ASE Technology's annual report, ISE Labs was set up in Fremont in November 1983 to provide IC testing services.

In addition to ISE Labs, Shanghai-listed Universal Scientific Industrial (Shanghai) Co., another subsidiary of ASE Technology, opened a facility in Jalisco in July to expand its contract industrial and automotive electronics business and cater to clients in North America.