Vishay to Expand German Plant With 300 mm Chips, Plans 250 Jobs
Key Facts
Vishay announced an expansion of its semiconductor production facility in Itzehoe, in Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein state, adding a plant that will produce 300 mm wafers. NDR reported that production is expected to start next year. The company said, according to dpa-AFX via Onvista, that it would invest “the high hundreds of millions” of euros, without specifying the exact amount. Andreas Hein, the CDU parliamentary group’s economic affairs spokesman in the state parliament, estimated the investment at around €1 billion. The expansion comes as the facility seeks to fill 250 new positions ahead of the start of production. The project adds domestic manufacturing capacity for semiconductor chips used in energy, mobility and industrial applications.
The technical shift is from 200 mm wafers, which the plant produced before the expansion, to 300 mm wafers at the new facility, according to dpa-AFX. Germany’s federal economy ministry links government support to the project and cites applications including electric mobility, driver-assistance systems and battery management. Industrial uses also include powering artificial intelligence applications, the ministry says. This concerns power components serving those applications; it does not mean the plant produces AI processors. The difference in wafer diameter illustrates the change in production equipment required for the expansion, while the company’s announced investment remains a broad estimate rather than a final figure.
The expansion had featured in earlier coverage of the project in July, when NDR reported that the company was expanding its semiconductor switching devices plant with an investment of more than €400 million, with more than 100 jobs expected to be created at that stage. The October announcement refers to 250 new jobs tied to the expected start of production next year. The comparison shows the project developing in stages, with differences in the scope of the figures and jobs cited in the two reports. The company did not disclose a precise total investment figure in its October announcement.
The expansion announcement comes as preliminary data from Germany’s Federal Statistical Office showed limited economic growth in the third quarter of 2026. Gross domestic product rose 0.2% from the previous quarter and 1.3% from the third quarter of 2025 after price adjustment. The office said consumer spending edged up quarter on quarter, while capital formation declined. Export momentum, which had been strong in the first half of the year, also slowed markedly. The indicators offer a mixed picture of an expanding economy as some components of investment and foreign trade fell during the quarter.
Vishay Intertechnology shares, trading under the ticker VSH, closed at $29.43 on October 29, according to L7 data. Recorded closes were $26.70 on October 23, $26.71 on October 26, then $29.63 on October 27 and $29.92 on October 28. The close fell to $29.43 in the following session. These prices show the closing-price path over the cited sessions, but do not by themselves establish a share-price response to the expansion announcement.
The Federal Statistical Office is scheduled to publish detailed results on Germany’s economic performance in the third quarter on November 25, 2026. Those results will provide further detail on the components of growth following the preliminary reading, which recorded a quarterly increase in gross domestic product. The plant’s start of production next year is the next operational milestone cited by NDR. The report says 250 new positions need to be filled for that stage. Vishay has not announced the final investment figure it intends to commit.