Power Integrations opens $20m Swiss pilot line
Power Integrations has opened a $20m pilot line and design centre in a newly constructed facility in Biel, Switzerland.
The 4,600-square-meter, $20 million facility is the new home for about 60 engineers and other technology professionals. That number is expected to rise as the company continues to grow in the years ahead.
In addition to modern office and laboratory space, the contemporary building houses a surface-mounted-technology (SMT) line used to develop prototypes for the company’s gate-driver products. The facility also features a 25-kilowatt rooftop solar array.
Power Integrations’ presence in Switzerland dates to its 2012 acquisition of CT-Concept Technologie AG. Its Biel operation specializes in gate drivers for high-power applications such as solar and wind energy, electric locomotives and efficient DC transmission lines, and is an integral part of the company’s efforts in the electric-vehicle market.
Worldwide, Power Integrations employs approximately 770 people, with additional R&D centres at its Silicon Valley headquarters as well as in the UK, Canada and Malaysia, with design-support centres in Germany and the Philippines.
“We are delighted to open our new, permanent home in Biel, bringing all of our local employees under one roof and giving us ample room for the growth we expect in the years ahead,” said Balu Balakrishnan, CEO of Power Integrations (centre left). “Our presence here is an essential part of our company’s efforts to develop innovative products for a low-carbon future. We are grateful to the city’s leaders for their support of this project, and we look forward to a long and productive future together.”
The site was planned and built by Biel-based architectural firm GLS Architects. “This has been an exciting project for our firm from its very beginning more than five years ago. We have particularly enjoyed the challenge of integrating a high-tech SMT line into this contemporary office building,” said Nik Liechti, CEO of GLS Architects.
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