HORIBA plans mass-flow-controller production in Kedah

The Malaysian production plan

HORIBA plans to relocate from Penang to Kedah for its first Malaysian mass-flow-controller production, with full-scale operations scheduled for January 2026. The proposed base will include an Analytical Solution Plaza for advanced-material analysis, semiconductor-process monitoring and environmental measurements. HORIBA estimates its global controller-market share at about sixty per cent, based on April 2025 research. Malaysia president Yohei Kawamura linked the project to strengthening global supply. The Malaysian Investment Development Authority pledged infrastructure support and competitive incentives.

The preceding Japanese factory proposal

In December 2023, HORIBA STEC announced a separate factory project in Fukuchiyama, Kyoto Prefecture. The proposal budgeted approximately seventeen billion yen and envisaged construction starting in July 2024, with completion in January 2026. The two-storey building was designed with total floor space of 23,292 square metres, including around ten thousand square metres for production. HORIBA expected the programme to raise Japanese mass-flow-controller capacity to as much as three times the then-current Kyoto and Aso level. Planned automation included an automatic production line and delivery robots linking processes. Collaboration with the neighbouring technology centre would support product development.

A product release before the Kedah announcement

On 14 January 2025, HORIBA STEC released the DZ-107, extending its ultra-thin controller range. The company described the following characteristics:

A ten-millimetre width, retained from the DZ-100 released in 2020.
A maximum flow of twenty standard litres per minute, about seven times that of preceding models.
A maximum operating temperature raised from forty-five to sixty degrees Celsius.

HORIBA said the enhanced flow control served chemical-vapour deposition and atomic-layer deposition alongside etching. The product also supported EtherCAT communication. The company attributed the higher full-scale flow to a newly developed control valve.

The management-plan framework

HORIBA's management plan announced on 14 February 2024 set 2028 targets for its materials and semiconductor field: sales of 235 billion yen, operating income of 58.5 billion yen and an operating margin of twenty-five per cent. The plan described combining group technologies, production capacity, customer networks and service capabilities. Its global operational measures included developing analytical services, supplying products through a sustainable value chain and expanding distribution channels. These were company targets and initiatives under MLMAP2028.