Center of competence for power capacitors: TDK-EPC opens new factory in Spain

TDK-EPC, a group company of TDK Corporation, celebrated the opening of its second factory in Málaga, Spain. The new plant for the development and manufacture of power capacitors is located in the industrial park, Parque Tecnológico de Andalucía, and offers 6000 square meters of production space. A separate building with 1500 square meters of lab and office space houses the research and development activities. After a transitional period of one to two years all of TDK-EPC's activities in Málaga will be concentrated in the new factory. TDK-EPC serves important growth markets with the products made in Málaga. They include not only established application fields such as industrial drives and systems, electric trains and automotive electronics, but also promising growth markets in the field of renewable energy. "The competence and dedication of our team here in Málaga gives us good reason for high expectations as does this cutting-edge factory, with which TDK-EPC will further improve its competitiveness," said Klaus Ziegler, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of EPCOS and Chairman of the Board of Directors of TDK-EPC, during the opening ceremonies. "Málaga plays a key role in our business: the quality of the research and development activities and the broad spectrum of products that are manufactured here are a major factor in the success of our company." Innovative products that help protect the environment and increase energy efficiency TDK-EPC's new factory will produce power capacitors that are primarily used in wind power generators and photovoltaic power plants and for the efficient transmission of energy. Power capacitors are key components, for example, in high-voltage DC (HVDC) transmission systems. HVDC is the technology of choice for the transport of power over long distances, for example, from offshore wind farms to the power grid on the mainland. HVDC systems ensure a very low loss transmission of power - only about 3 percent over a distance of 1000 kilometers. Power losses over conventional AC transmission systems are twice as high. With the new facility TDK-EPC is continuing a successful presence in Spain that now spans several decades. The company has invested more than EUR 20 million in the new facility. After it is ramped up the annual sales of the factory are to reach more than EUR 50 million. In both of its factories in Málaga TDK-EPC now employs approximately 400 people. About TDK-EPC Corporation TDK-EPC Corporation (TDK-EPC), a TDK group company, is a leading manufacturer of electronic components, modules and systems headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. TDK-EPC has emerged from the combination of the electronic components business of TDK and the EPCOS Group and markets its products under the product brands, TDK and EPCOS. The product portfolio includes ceramic, aluminum electrolytic and film capacitors, ferrites and inductors, high-frequency components such as surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter products and modules, piezo and protection components, and sensors. With this product spectrum TDK-EPC offers a broad range of products and solutions of outstanding value from a single source and focuses on demanding markets in the areas of information and communication technology and automotive, industrial and consumer electronics. The company has design and manufacturing locations and sales offices in Asia, Europe, and in North and South America. www.epcos.com