Horiba India is open to setting up domestic manufacturing units for mass flow controllers and other specialised semiconductor manufacturing equipment in India once the overall silicon chip fabrication and packaging ecosystem grows, Dan Horiba, executive director and general manager of the group strategy division at Horiba, said.
“It depends on the local needs. If we have enough volume in the Indian market, then we can probably have local production. Internally, we have global capabilities for markets in Europe, Singapore, and other areas. We have product R&D (research and development) in France, Japan, and the US,” Horiba told Business Standard at a press conference marking two decades of Horiba India’s operations.
Though India has ample talent for R&D in semiconductor chip manufacturing and packaging, the country should also focus on building a complete end-to-end semiconductor value chain to create more intellectual property (IP) that stays with Indian companies and researchers, Horiba said.
“That (creating a value chain) is always a big driver of IP. For example, in Japan, when you look back 20 or 30 years ago, we had very strong chip manufacturers. At that time, component and material makers like us contributed to that strong global value chain,” he said.
India has strong government support for building the right semiconductor value chain; domestic policies should also target companies’ investments and demands based on their needs, Horiba said, adding that growth is about creating the right value chain.
“It is not just about the chip makers. There are equipment makers, component and material makers. We have to work together with them and understand their solutions and technologies. India should be open to working with companies outside of the country and build supply and value chains for specific companies,” he said.
