Intuitive Plans Penang Plant for da Vinci Instruments, With 1,200 Jobs by 2032

Intuitive, the maker of the da Vinci surgical robot, has signed a lease for a new manufacturing facility in Penang, Malaysia, that is expected to begin operations in 2028 and create 1,200 skilled jobs by 2032, the company announced on August 14 in a release distributed by InvestPenang, the Penang state government's investment promotion agency.

The lease agreement is with Penang Development Corporation for a site in Bandar Cassia Technology Park. According to the release, the 316,000-square-foot facility will manufacture Intuitive's surgical instruments and electromechanical devices used with the da Vinci surgical system, expanding the company's manufacturing footprint to meet demand across Asia Pacific.

Cost and timing

Mark Brosius, Intuitive's executive vice president and chief manufacturing and supply chain officer, gave investment figures at a press conference in George Town, Malay Mail reported. "The initial cost of phase one for the land and building will cost about US$200 million (RM817 million), but over a five-year period, including operations, investment should reach near US$500 million," he said, according to the newspaper, which described the total as about RM2 billion. Those figures are company estimates of planned spending, not a completed investment.

Brosius said the plant would be Intuitive's second in Asia, after its existing facility in China, and its first in Southeast Asia and Malaysia, Malay Mail reported. The company's release describes the opening date and the job total as expectations.

"Expanding our global manufacturing network requires thoughtful, long-term investments that enable us to scale while maintaining the operational excellence that defines Intuitive," Brosius said in the release. He said the facility would become an integral part of the company's global manufacturing operations.

Asia Pacific demand

Glenn Vavoso, Intuitive's senior vice president and president of Asia Pacific, described the region in the release as one of the most exciting growth opportunities for robotic-assisted surgery. The company said that since entering Asia Pacific more than two decades ago, its da Vinci systems have been used to treat more than 2.5 million patients across 13 markets in the region.

Penang officials presented the deal as part of a push to build up the state's medical technology manufacturing base. "Intuitive's investment reflects the confidence that global industry leaders have in Penang's mature industrial ecosystem, highly skilled workforce and proven manufacturing excellence," Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said in the release. He added that the state aims "to become the leading MedTech hub in Southeast Asia."

Chow said Penang has the highest concentration of medtech companies in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, and that six of the world's top 30 medtech companies by global sales have established manufacturing operations in the state, according to Malay Mail.

What comes next

Under the timeline Intuitive gave, construction and hiring would run ahead of a 2028 start of operations, with the workforce reaching 1,200 by 2032. Bandar Cassia Technology Park is on the Penang mainland. Intuitive, which is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and listed on Nasdaq, also makes the Ion endoluminal system, according to the release.