Surat Textile Exporter Invests USD 100 Mn in Semiconductor Plant

New Delhi, Aug 21 (PTI) Surat's textile exporter and Suchi Industries founder Ashok Mehta has forayed into the semiconductor business with plans to invest USD 100 million (around Rs 840 crore) in the company's first chip assembly and testing unit being set up in Gujarat.

Mehta told PTI that the company has received the Centre's approval for subsidy under the Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS) for its pilot project.

"We saw a lot of companies complaining about chip shortage during COVID-19.

"It was then I decided to foray into the semiconductor business. I did research, opened an office in Malaysia and built a team from there to enter into business. We will have Gujarat's first Semiconductor Assembly and Testing (OSAT) plant ready by November 2024," Mehta said.

The company's outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) plant is being set up under Suchi Semicon in Surat.

"We plan to invest USD 100 million over a period of three years. Initial capital is from our internal accruals. Our project has also been approved by Punjab National Bank for funds," Mehta said.

US semiconductor firm Micron and Murugappa Group's CG Power are also setting up their chip packaging plant in Gujarat. Micron chip plant production is expected to start operations in December 2024.

Suchi Semicon Co-Founder Shetal Mehta said that the company already has an onboarded customer for discrete semiconductors which are used across all types of electronic devices.

"We will start with a production capacity of 2 lakh chips per day from November on a pilot basis. Thereafter plan is to ramp up the production to 30 lakh pieces per day," he said.

The company has signed a pact with engineering colleges like SVNIT (Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology) and Gujarat Technological University (GTU) to support skill development and create a skilled workforce.

"We have built our core team with people who have spent 30 years in this industry in established semiconductor companies. We will start operations with about 100 people. We have already started hiring from the local very good colleges and people with experience in the electronics industry but the core team is from Malaysia," Shetal Mehta said.