The chip manufacturer is struggling with delivery problems and is therefore building a new factory in Malaysia.
(Photo: dpa)
Munich Infineon is investing two billion euros in a new plant in Malaysia – and a Dutch chip expert is to ensure that the billions get to the right place. Germany’s largest semiconductor manufacturer announced on Thursday that Rutger Wijburg will be the new production director as of April 1st.
The appointment of the electrical engineer with a doctorate is no coincidence: Wijburg was one of the most important employees of the future CEO Jochen Hanebeck in recent years. The manager, who was previously responsible for production, will take over the top position of the Dax group on April 1st. He succeeds Reinhard Ploss, 66, who is leaving Infineon after ten years at the helm.
Wijburg has so far managed the core of Infineon production, the so-called front end. At the same time, he built the virtual factory, the digital merger of the plants in Dresden and Villach – one of Infineon’s central projects in recent years.
With the appointment of the doctorate in electrical engineering, one thing is certain: Hanebeck surrounds himself with nothing but familiar faces – because the rest of the board stays. But it is also clear that men will continue to dominate the management body. With Constanze Hufenbecher there is only one woman on the five-strong board. She joined the Munich team at the beginning of last year and is responsible for digital transformation.
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Wijburg will hold a key position at Infineon in the future. Because the group is spending billions to upgrade its plants. His largest project will be the new building in Kulim, Malaysia, where a new module is to be built at an existing location by the end of 2024. Infineon also announced this on Thursday. The company wants to produce chips there for the booming business with so-called compound semiconductors, i.e. with the innovative materials silicon carbide and gallium nitride.
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Supervisory Board Chairman Wolfgang Eder considers Wijburg to be an “ideal person” and he is an “extremely successful operations manager,” he said at the Annual General Meeting on Thursday. Before joining Infineon in 2018, Wijburg worked at contract manufacturer Globalfoundries and at NXP, one of Bayern’s main competitors.
The new production director is under pressure from the start, just like Hanebeck as the future CEO. Business is doing brilliantly. Sales in the current fiscal year – which ends on September 30 – are expected to increase by almost a fifth to 13 billion euros. But Infineon is far from delivering as much as customers order. “The shortage of chips continues,” warned outgoing CEO Ploss at the shareholders’ meeting.
Investors warn of overcapacity
In order to expand the scarce capacities, Ploss has approved 2.4 billion euros in investments for the current financial year, half more than last year. Investors are skeptical: It should be borne in mind that the upswing in the cycle is always followed by a downturn, says fund manager Markus Golinski from Union Investment: “There must be no massive overcapacity that would fall on the company’s feet in a downturn.” When investing in the future, it’s all about finding the right balance, warns the investor.
Wijburg promised to “always keep an eye on profitable growth”. And the future CEO was also confident that the huge investments in the new plant in Kulim would pay off. “Once again we are setting the course for future success at an early stage,” Hanebeck explained. Infineon made the decision for the Villach factory, which was inaugurated in autumn, at exactly the right time.
The Dutchman will become the new Chief Production Officer at Infineon.
(Photo: Infineon)
Hanebeck, 53 years old, knows Infineon inside out, having spent his entire professional life at the former Siemens division. Born in Dortmund, he started in 1994 as a development engineer for memory chips. Later, for several years, he headed the auto division, the largest and most important division of Munich. As Chief Operating Officer since 2016, he has been responsible for the plants, among other things.
“I’m proud that the course will continue to be determined by a member of today’s management team in the years to come,” said Ploss. Surprises are therefore not to be expected for the time being. Hanebeck promised that he would continue the strategy. It is important to him to consistently implement what the company intends to do.
The stock exchange could not really convince Infineon on Thursday. The share price languished at 33 euros. Since the beginning of the year, the papers have lost almost a fifth of their value.
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