KUCHING, European semiconductor manufacturer X-FAB Silicon Foundries SE has expanded its production capacity at its Sarawak wafer fabrication plant in the Sama Jaya Free Industrial Zone, raising monthly output by 10,000 wafers to a total of 40,000.
The capacity expansion involved building a new facility and clean room, completed late last year. Throughout the first half of 2025, the focus was on installing and qualifying new equipment.
“All equipment has been delivered and is at various stages of installation and qualification,” X-FAB said in its second-quarter 2025 financial results statement.
Phased production ramp-up of its 180nm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2025. This expansion will help meet both current and future customer demand for this widely used technology, which is vital to X-FAB’s CMOS and microsystems business.
For 2Q25, X-FAB reported revenue of US$215.3 million, a 5% increase year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation rose 7% year-on-year to US$51.6 million, up 4% from the previous quarter.
The new building and clean room are set to be officially opened by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on September 12.
X-FAB Sarawak, originally known as 1st Silicon, began operations in 1998 as Malaysia’s first semiconductor manufacturing facility. It merged with X-FAB in 2006 and now employs about 1,500 staff, 90% of whom are Sarawakian.
X-FAB is a global foundry group with six wafer fabs in Sarawak, Germany, France, and the United States. It specialises in analog/mixed-signal technologies, microsystems/MEMS, and silicon carbide, serving primarily the automotive, industrial, and medical sectors.
In 2023, X-FAB launched a US$1 billion, three-year expansion program across its fabs in Sarawak, France, and the US, focusing heavily on the 180nm CMOS platform, which continues to see strong demand.
CEO Rudi De Winter highlighted the importance of this additional capacity to support the growing customer base and new business pipeline. He noted that X-FAB France has also made significant progress in ramping up production, including support for their new 110nm VCD-on-SOI technology.
The group’s expansion program was completed in 2Q25. With capacity no longer a bottleneck and shorter factory cycle times, customers are placing orders later and more frequently, which has reduced order visibility.
X-FAB’s order backlog stood at US$412.9 million in 2Q25, up from US$386.7 million the previous quarter.
