Ayala-led IMI opens factory in Serbia

IMI president, Gilles Bernard and president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić. (Contributed photo)

Ayala-led electronics manufacturer Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. (IMI) has opened a new manufacturing hub in the the City of Niš, Republic of Serbia, the 21st factory in its growing global network.

“With IMI, we now open the doors to the future – the 21st century, and we are now part of the global trends,” Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić said at the opening of the 14,000-square meter factory located at Lozni Kalem in Niska Banja, Niš .

The production facility, which opened on Sept. 29., allows IMI to expand its global footprint and support the growing market for automotive components in the European region. The factory is seen to boost the manufacturing of electronic car components in the region and further develop the Serbian economy, contributing to the country’s competitiveness as an investment location.

“As a partner-of-choice in building technologies like sensing cameras, advanced driver assistance systems, lighting, body control modules, battery management and displays, IMI will be a significant contributor to the digital car of tomorrow,” IMI and AC Industrials CEO Arthur Tan said in a press statement on Tuesday.

“This investment also forms part of the continuing effort of IMI and AC Industrials to assemble a global manufacturing platform capable of capitalizing on key megatrends such as increasing electronics in vehicles, autonomous driving, the shift to electric power, and shared mobility,” he added.

“The new manufacturing site will be an extension of IMI Bulgaria and is in anticipation of what we see as a pipeline of contracts,” IMI president Gilles Bernard said.

IMI Serbia is seen to complement IMI’s production facilities elsewhere in the world – in the Philippines, China, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States.  These are in addition to the production facilities of other AC Industrials companies in Germany, Thailand, the United States, and the Philippines. /jpv

Gilles Bernard, president of IMI (3rd from the right) and Eric De Candido, managing director of IMI Bulgaria and regional head operations (2nd from the right), along with senior management staff.