Intuitive’s RM2b Penang facility to boost medtech manufacturing, create 1,200 jobs

GEORGE TOWN, Aug 14 — Intuitive, a global medtech company, is planning to invest around RM2 billion over five years in its first facility in Penang, Malaysia. Executives anticipate that the 316,000-square-foot facility, tentatively set to commence operations in 2028, will generate nearly US$500 million in investment over the five-year period, with the initial cost of phase one estimated at US$200 million (RM817 million).

This new facility will be Intuitive's second in Asia, following its existing Chinese facility, and will be its first in Southeast Asia and Malaysia.

Mark Brosius, Intuitive's executive vice-president and chief manufacturing and supply chain officer, disclosed that the facility would specialize in manufacturing Intuitive's surgical instruments and electromechanical devices employed with the da Vinci surgical system. Brosius highlighted that by 2032, the facility is expected to create 1,200 highly skilled jobs, bolstering the company's global manufacturing footprint and meeting the growing demand within the Asia-Pacific region.

Intuitive's expansion in Penang is part of the company's long-term strategy to maintain operational excellence while scaling its operations. The establishment of the facility at Penang's Bandar Cassia Technology Park represents another significant milestone in the state's industrial development in the medtech industry. Penang currently houses the highest concentration of medtech companies in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, with six of the world's top 30 MedTech companies by global sales having established manufacturing operations in the region.