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National Instruments today announced plans to open a new R&D and operations facility in Malaysia in 2010. An $80 million capital investment, the new facility will occupy 17 acres on the island of Penang and eventually employ 1,500 people in manufacturing, product development, R&D, shared services, IT and finance positions. National Instruments is developing the facility as part of the company’s ongoing plan to expand global operations to support the company’s growth.
“Hundreds of thousands of engineers and scientists around the world have adopted National Instruments software and hardware to develop innovative applications, resulting in strong, long-term growth for our company,” said Dr. James Truchard, president, CEO and cofounder of National Instruments. “The new facility will help us better serve our customers and support the continued growth of our business while giving us access to the great talent that Malaysia and Penang have to offer.”
Founded in 1976, National Instruments develops and manufactures software and hardware products that engineers and scientists use for test, control and embedded design applications. The company’s graphical system design tools, which combine the open NI LabVIEW software with commercial off-the-shelf programmable hardware such as NI CompactRIO and PXI, give engineers and scientists a complete development platform for designing, prototyping and deploying systems more rapidly than traditional methodologies.
“We are excited to welcome National Instruments to Malaysia and honored the company has chosen to invest in our country,” said Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, minister of international trade and industry in Malaysia. “Malaysia offers a talent-rich, competitive environment that is ideal for higher value-add companies, and we look forward to a successful collaboration with National Instruments.”
Malaysia’s strong university system, skilled engineers and IT professionals, regional infrastructure, favorable business climate and proven success of supporting global high-tech companies attracted National Instruments to the country. The close proximity of the new facility to Asian markets also makes it possible for the company to respond more quickly to customer demand in the region and provide better access to software and hardware services such as product calibration.
“After an extensive, multi-year search, National Instruments selected Malaysia as the site of our new R&D and operations facility because of its skilled workforce, cost-competitive environment and quality support from national and local officials,” said Rob Porterfield, vice president of manufacturing at National Instruments. “We want to thank the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority and Invest Penang for their professional assistance in helping us realize our plans for the facility.”
National Instruments has a very strong financial track record, with more than $276 million in cash and short-term investments, and has been consistently profitable since 1990. With record revenue of $740 million in 2007, the company has delivered revenue growth for 30 of its 31 years. A key driver of the company’s growth has been its long-term commitment to R&D, which has consistently provided disruptive innovations in the test and measurement and industrial and embedded target markets. National Instruments employs more than 5,000 people worldwide including more than 1,400 in R&D.
“As a global leader in technology, National Instruments is a welcome addition to Penang and will bring high-value jobs to our state,” said Lim Guan Eng, chief minister of Penang. “Penang has a proven history of successful business development, and we are confident that the people and resources of Penang will offer tremendous value to National Instruments.”
About National Instruments
National Instruments (ni.com) is transforming the way engineers and scientists design, prototype and deploy systems for measurement, automation and embedded applications. NI empowers customers with off-the-shelf software such as NI LabVIEW and modular cost-effective hardware, and sells to a broad base of more than 25,000 different companies worldwide, with no one customer representing more than 3 percent of revenue and no one industry representing more than 10 percent of revenue. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has more than 4,800 employees and direct operations in nearly 40 countries. For the past nine years, FORTUNE magazine has named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in America.
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