Dedicated to high-tech and AR: SCHOTT celebrates completion of New Production Facility in Kulim, Malaysia

SCHOTT Board Member Dr. Andrea Frenzel inaugurated the new site in a ceremony attended by over 300 SCHOTT Glass Malaysia employees in Kulim together with Marcus Knöbel, who recently joined SCHOTT’s Board of Management as CFO after successfully leading SCHOTT’s Advanced Optics unit for several years.  In recognition of their recent accomplishments, SCHOTT Glass Malaysia employees in Penang jointly celebrated with a special complimentary meal and souvenir to commemorate this significant day.

Strategically located in Kulim, a bustling high-tech hub near the Penang site, the new facility is dedicated to the production of optical components that SCHOTT supplies to global high-tech industries such as Augmented Reality. The state-of-the-art facility, successfully completed in less than 12 months, will significantly boost SCHOTT’s capacity in optical precision manufacturing, adhering to the highest standards of quality and innovation.

"This is a great achievement for SCHOTT,” says Dr. Andrea Frenzel. “Half a century ago, SCHOTT established our first production site in Asia right here in Penang. Today, we are very thrilled to continue this journey by expanding and strengthening our presence in Malaysia."

Pioneering AR with Global Manufacturing Excellence

SCHOTT’s Advanced Optics business unit has many years of experience in delivering high precision optical components. Malaysia is part of its global manufacturing network, which works with centers of excellence in Germany, North America, Switzerland, and China to mass-produce innovative products that meet customers’ most demanding needs. As a pioneer in the emerging market of Augmented Reality, SCHOTT has established several product lines that enable an uncompromised user experience through pristine image quality, an ultra-compact and lightweight form-factor, and an immersive content experience.

Augmented Reality is set to become a transformative technology across various industries. For example, the entertainment and gaming industries can create new forms of interactive experiences by blending digital and physical worlds. Additionally, AR can enhance remote collaboration by enabling virtual meetings with interactive 3D models. As this technology advances, its applications will expand, driving innovation and efficiency across multiple sectors, especially when integrated with other emerging technologies like 5G, AI, and IoT.

Building on a 50-year heritage in Malaysia, SCHOTT has grown its regional set-up to a strong innovation hub in optical components for the global market, such as consumer electronics, medical, and industrial. This integrated local set-up of product development and mass production enables fast design cycles and seamless product introduction.

Registered in 1974, the site in Penang was SCHOTT’s first production site in Asia. It has grown to a highly advanced plant that employs and trains over 1,300 skilled engineers and production workers. The site manufactures cutting-edge optical components and specialty materials, including glass wafers and MEMS packaging for the semiconductor market. The new Kulim site reinforces Malaysia as a global manufacturing hub for SCHOTT to supply high-end specialty glass solutions.