The company aims to expand its footprint in both production and innovation to address the global chip shortage
Merck headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany. (Credit: Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany)
German science and technology company Merck said that it will invest over €3bn in innovation and capacities of its electronics business during the next four years.
Merck plans to keep on investing heavily in research and development (R&D) in leading-edge material solutions. Apart from that, the German group revealed its intention to put in over €2bn in long-term fixed assets.
The investment in the electronics business is said to be an essential part of its Level Up growth programme, which was announced earlier this month. Under the programme, the business sector will aim for an organic growth of 3-6% per year on average between 2021 and 2025.
Furthermore, Merck aims to see its semiconductor solutions business chip in nearly 80% to the planned growth of the electronics unit in the coming years.
The company’s electronics business sector is engaged in supplying innovative materials and technologies for next-generation memory chips and processors. The unit develops materials for advanced displays and new effect pigments, which are used in the automotive, printing, and cosmetics industries.
The German group said that its electronics business will aim to seize growth opportunities that come along with the fast growing demand for innovative semiconductor and display materials around the world.
The company said that through the Level Up programme, the demand is driven by exponential data growth and hugely impactful technology trends like 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Merck electronics CEO Kai Beckmann said: “With our growth program Level Up, we are considerably extending our global production footprint and boosting R&D and innovation. Our highly attractive growth markets such as semiconductors and OLED are expanding at an increasing rate.
“By tapping into this momentum, we are significantly enhancing our growth prospects.”
The company said that the Level Up growth programme focuses on four mutually reinforcing key priorities, which are scale, technology, portfolio, and capabilities.
Investing further in the four areas will build the base of the electronics business unit’s ambitious growth targets, said the company. This will be in conjunction with the solid demand for semiconductors and other electronics materials.
Merck said that in order to address the global chip shortage, it will expand its footprint in both production and innovation in close proximity to its customers.