Ashok Mehta, founder of Suchi Industries and a prominent textile exporter from Surat, is making a significant leap into the semiconductor industry with a $100 million (approximately ₹840 crore) investment. This funding will establish the Suchi Industries inaugural chip assembly and testing facility in Gujarat.
Mehta announced that the project has been granted a subsidy under the Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS) by the Indian government. He stated that the decision to enter the semiconductor sector was influenced by the global chip shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I noticed the widespread issues with chip shortages and decided it was time to enter this sector. After conducting thorough research, I set up an office in Malaysia and assembled a team to kickstart this venture. We expect Gujarat’s first Semiconductor Assembly and Testing (OSAT) plant to be operational by November 2024,” Mehta explained.
The new facility, named Suchi Semicon, will be based in Surat and aims to invest $100 million over the next three years. Initial funding is sourced from the company’s internal resources, with additional financial support secured from Punjab National Bank.
The Gujarat semiconductor landscape is also seeing investments from US semiconductor giant Micron and the Murugappa Group’s CG Power, with Micron’s chip plant scheduled to begin operations in December 2024.
Suchi Semicon’s Co-Founder, Shetal Mehta, revealed that the company has already secured a customer for its discrete semiconductors, which are integral to various electronic devices. The plant will commence operations with a pilot production capacity of 200,000 chips per day, with plans to scale up to 3 million chips daily.
Additionally, the company has partnered with engineering institutions like SVNIT (Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology) and Gujarat Technological University (GTU) to foster skill development and build a skilled workforce. Shetal Mehta noted that the core team comprises industry veterans with over 30 years of experience, primarily sourced from Malaysia, though local hiring efforts are underway.
