Citing increased demand for its microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) in the markets for self-driving cars, healthcare and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), Japanese sensor house Murata Electronics Oy will build a new factory in Vantaa Finland to increase capacity.
Murata will spend about $45.4 million (5 billion yen) on the new facility that will increase its global production of MEMS devices and generate about 150 to 200 new jobs. The factory will be used to manufacture sensors for applications in car safety and pacemakers, Murata said.
The company had previously leased buildings to increase its capacity but given the rapid rise in demand for the MEMS devices, chose to build its own facility that will be about 16,000 square meters and will be completed by the end of 2019.
Currently, Murata owns only one MEMS facility outside of Japan in the form of a factory it obtained when it acquired Finland-based VTI Technologies in 2012. That facility has grown substantially in the past 10 years and hosts one of the largest clean-room facilities in the country, Murata said.
