Murata's new Finnish manufacturing plant is ready for business

With the new facility, Murata Finland has increased its production and product development unit with an additional 16’000 square metres of space; which is more or less a third of the units previous size. In total the company has invested EUR 42 million in the expansion of its Finnish operations. The company said in its original announcement that the expansion would create 150 – 200 new jobs. The focus of the new facility is the manufacturing of MEMS sensors, which are mainly used in automotive safety systems, production machines and health technology, such as pacemakers. The company also develops positioning and safety technology for the advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) as well as for self-directed cars. "The market for ADAS and self-directed cars is expected to grow in the future. MEMS sensors are used for applications of this type that require excellent measurement accuracy and stable performance under varying conditions. With the factory expansion, we are ready to meet the growing demand and are also able to build high synergy between our Finnish MEMS technology expertise and Murata's manufacturing capabilities," says Yuichiro Hayata, the Managing Director of Murata Electronics, a Finnish subsidiary of Murata, in a press release. With the current developments taking place within the automotive industry – increased connectivity, autonomous features, sharing and subscriptions services and not to mention the electrification – the market is increasing its demands for higher performance in electronics devices; and this is where Murata plans to play a big role. “Especially in the area of autonomous driving, we have the strength of MEMS technology which can be used to detect the behavior of the vehicle body and also grasp the surrounding environment. By strengthening our production capabilities, we are very pleased to contribute to the development of a safe and secure mobility society and to the development of healthcare fields through sensors.” says Norio Nakajima, the Senior Executive Vice President, Module Business Unit, and Representative Director.