Tokuyama to build $677M polycrystalline silicon factory in Malaysia

Tokyo-based Tokuyama said today it is planning to build a new factory in Sarawak, Malaysia, to produce polycrystalline silicon for solar cells.

The announcement marks the company’s second manufacturing facility, which is expected to help the company meet customer demand and increase its production capacity.

The new factory is slated to be built in the Samalaju Industrial Park, with construction starting in early in 2011, and opening in 2013.

The location offers the ample electricity and industrial water required to produce the polycrystalline silicon, according to the company. The site also offers preferential tax treatment and support in acquiring permits and licenses provided by the federal and state government.

The ¥65 billion (US$677 million) factory is expected to use a Siemens production method, with an annual production capacity of 6,000 tons.

Japan's biggest polysilicon maker said it plans to set up a new unit, called Tokuyama Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., in Sarawak to manufacture and sell the polycrystalline silicon. Of the 300 new employees, 280 would be hired locally.

Tokuyama has manufactured and sold polycrystalline silicon mainly for semiconductors to date. The company’s Tokuyama Factory in Shunan City, Yamaguchi, has been its only manufacturing base until today’s announcement (see Solar sales spawning silicon shortages and What silicon shortage, asks Hemlock).