SMALL and medium enterprises (SMEs) and smaller local firms in Penang’s automated test equipment (ATE) ecosystem will soon be able to bid for higher-value contracts without being held back by prohibitive upfront software and equipment costs, thanks to the upcoming Penang ATE Campus Shared Lab.
Speaking at a press conference after today’s MedTech Collaboration Workshop, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the facility, targeted for launch in the first quarter of 2027 at the Penang Skills Development Centre (PSDC), is designed to bridge the technological gap between smaller firms and large industry players.
“With all these facilities, smaller companies can take on better and higher-value jobs.
“In the past, clients would ask if a company possessed certain advanced software or equipment, and smaller firms had to turn down opportunities because they lacked the financial capability.
“Now, with a shared facility like this, they can leverage these tools, close the gap, and scale up to become major players,” he added.
Chow noted that the facility complements the state’s RM100 million Strategic Investment Fund announced in the recent state budget, which rolls out early next year to help local SMEs scale up into homegrown champions.
InvestPenang chief executive officer Datuk Seri Loo Lee Lian pointed out that specialised industrial software from global leaders like Siemens and Rockwell can easily cost upwards of RM2 million, an investment out of reach for most SMEs when only needed intermittently.
“The Shared Lab will acquire these capabilities so smaller companies can access them on a pay-per-use basis for a nominal fee,” Loo said.
PSDC chief executive officer Datuk Seri Hari Narayanan added that usage fees will be subsidised, or even waived in some cases, depending on a company’s size and capabilities, alongside co-curated training programmes for local talent.
Earlier during the event, Chow witnessed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) Recognition Ceremony between InvestPenang and 17 Technology Collaborators to support the Shared Lab and talent development across four key stages, namely Concept and Design Development (Dassault Systèmes, EPLAN, GSH Precision Technology, IME Technology, and Projet Technology); Assembly, Integration and Virtual Commissioning (Beckhoff Automation, Delta Electronics Solutions, Mitsubishi Electric, Rockwell Automation, and Siemens); Failure Analysis, Reliability Testing, Compliance Certification (MIMOS Technologies, QAV Technologies, SIRIM QAS International, TÜV SÜD Malaysia, and UL Solutions); and Test Equipment Service (Contacthings and Electro Rent).
He also witnessed an MoU exchange between InvestPenang and Boston Scientific to enable pilot projects and localisation opportunities, marking the 12th Pilot Project MoU under the Penang ATE Campus initiative.
“The participation of these 17 Technology Collaborators is an important step towards strengthening the foundations of our local ATE industry.
“For a young engineer in Penang, this means learning on technology from companies such as Siemens and Mitsubishi, right here at home,” Chow added in his speech.
Organised by InvestPenang, with the Association of Malaysian Medical Industries (AMMI) as a supporting partner, the closed-door workshop brought together 10 MedTech multinational corporations (MNCs) and local firms, along with 16 local ATE companies.
Story by Kevin Vimal
Pix by Adleena Rahayu Ahmad Radzi
Video by Ahmad Adil Muhammad