Hundreds of millions of pounds to turbocharge manufacturing sector in Wales
March 2025
Wales is set to benefit from a £250million investment from one of the world’s largest manufacturers of semiconductors that will be vital to the production of electric vehicles, supporting the government’s Plan for Change in delivering more skilled jobs, and turbocharging the economy.
The Chancellor Rachel Reeves will welcome Vishay Intertechnology’s intention to invest on a visit to their Newport plant today (Thursday 27 March) – the UK’s largest semiconductor facility – as part of plans to develop large-scale compound semiconductor manufacturing in the country.
The investment will boost production at the state-of-the-art factory where it will make advanced Silicon Carbide semiconductors, an integral part of EV production. This advanced technology supports faster battery charging time, enabling a more efficient supply of energy to the motor and longer driving distances.
Vishay’s investment is expected to directly support over 500 high value, high skilled jobs in the region and indirectly support hundreds more in the wider supply chain.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves MP said:
“Under this government the UK is open for business. This is exactly the type of investment that will help us grow the economy, create highly skilled jobs and boost opportunity for people across the country, as we deliver on our Plan for Change to get more money in working people’s pockets.”
Business and Trade Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds MP said:
“This is a huge vote of confidence in the Welsh economy and our plans to make Britain the destination of choice for investments in the industries of tomorrow. It will support local skilled jobs and raise living standards, showing our Plan for Change is working.
“Vishay’s investment will help secure a domestic supply of semiconductors which are vital for our world leading automotive sector and support our clean energy industries – key growth driving sectors identified in our upcoming Industrial Strategy.”
Roy Shoshani, COO Semiconductors and CTO for Vishay, said:
“This is an exciting moment, and the start of our plans for growth in the UK. We can see through the development of the Industrial Strategy and the skilled workforce in Newport that there is a real opportunity to play to the UK’s strength in advanced semiconductors, delivering greater economic security and supporting Net Zero.”
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said:
“This significant investment in compound semiconductors is a huge contribution to the innovation and advanced technology necessary to drive the future of UK Automotive. British-made next-generation semiconductors will create jobs, support supply chains and enhance the UK’s strategic capabilities. Digitisation and decarbonisation are at the heart of the transition taking place amongst UK automotive manufacturers, and this investment can support that transition, aided by a comprehensive industrial strategy to deliver the growth the sector and the economy needs.”
“This investment is a fantastic vote of confidence for the quality and resilience of the workforce at the Newport Wafer Fab site, which has been a bedrock of the UK semiconductor industry since 1982. Since the launching the Welsh Semiconductor Cluster in 2015, our partners have invested heavily in creating a world-leading research and innovation ecosystem, with a highly skilled talent pipeline to address a semiconductor market opportunity which is set to surpass $1Trillion per annum by 2030. Global semiconductor players like KLA, Microchip, IQE, Vishay, and recently announced Cadence, have recognised the value of our proposition and have committed in excess of £600M investment to fuel the continued growth of semiconductor manufacturing in South Wales.”
About Vishay
Vishay manufactures one of the world’s largest portfolios of discrete semiconductors and passive electronic components that are essential to innovative designs in the automotive, industrial, computing, consumer, telecommunications, military, aerospace, and medical markets. Serving customers worldwide, Vishay is The DNA of tech®. Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. is a Fortune 1,000 Company listed on the NYSE (VSH). More on Vishay at www.Vishay.com.
Forward Looking Statement
Statements contained herein that relate to the Company’s future performance, including capital investment, capacity expansion and cash flow generation, are forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words and expressions such as “will,” “expect,” “focus,” “intend,” “committed, “goal” or other similar words or expressions often identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on current expectations only, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, many of which are beyond our control. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results, performance, or achievements may vary materially from those anticipated, estimated or projected. Among the factors that could cause such material variations include: that the fab will not be integrated successfully into the Company’s overall business; that the expected benefits of the acquisition may not be realized; that the fab’s standards, procedures and controls will not be brought into conformance within the Company’s operation; difficulties in transitioning and retaining fab employees following the acquisition; difficulties in consolidating facilities and transferring processes and know-how; the diversion of our management’s attention from the management of our current business; risks of foreign operations, including excessive operation costs, labor shortages, changes in tax rates; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; uncertainty related to the effects of changes in foreign currency exchange rates; difficulties in new product development; changes in U.S. or foreign trade regulations and tariffs, and uncertainty regarding the same; changes in applicable domestic and foreign tax regulations, and uncertainty regarding the same; and other factors that are set forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual reports on Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
The DNA of tech® is a trademark of Vishay Intertechnology.
