Bosch officially opens wafer fab in Dresden

Highly automated, fully connected machines and integrated processes, combined with methods of artificial intelligence will make the Dresden plant a smart factory and an example of Industry 4.0. “For Bosch, semiconductors are a core technology, and it is strategically important to develop and manufacture them ourselves. In Dresden, with the help of artificial intelligence, we will take semiconductor manufacturing to the next level,” says Dr. Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH in a press release. “This is our first AIoT factory: fully connected, data-driven, and self-optimizing right from the start.” The company is investing roughly one billion euros in the high-tech location, making it the biggest single investment in the company's history. Production in Dresden will start as early as July – six months earlier than planned. From that time on, semiconductors made in the new plant will be installed in Bosch power tools. For automotive customers, chip production will start in September, and thus three months earlier than planned. On 72,000 square meters of floor space, 250 people are already working in the wafer fab in Saxony’s state capital. The workforce is set to grow to roughly 700 once construction work has been completed.