Coherix Collaborates with NCIA on Vision Knowledge Center

Coherix was recently featured in an article in the Business Times. 

The economic fortunes of semiconductor and transport-related firms in Penang and the rest of the country are set to improve by the end of the year when a machine vision knowledge center opens its doors on the island. 

The Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) is plowing US$4 million (RM14.7 million) into the center, which will be sited at the Bayan Lepas Industrial Zone. 

The NCIA is collaborating with US-based three dimensional machine vision company Coherix Inc to offer vision inspection technology in the semiconductor and transport sectors. 

The machine vision knowledge center is one component of the network of centers of excellence to be established within the Northern Corridor Economic Region for which a RM100 million budget has been earmarked under the Ninth Malaysia Plan. 

"We are bringing a lot of exposure into Penang for companies, especially small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), to leverage on new technologies for their manufacturing processes, while reducing costs," NCIA manufacturing division senior vice-president Chris Tan told Business Times. 

Also present was Coherix's semiconductor division president Hollis McNully. 

Last week, NCIA and Coherix inked a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on the setting up of the vision knowledge center. 

"Coherix has had a long-standing relationship with Malaysia, particularly Penang", McNully said. 

"Your Penang-based SMEs have used Coherix's technology platforms to make machine vision inspection tools for large multinationals like Intel for many years." 

"We feel that the time has come for Malaysian companies to take the next step and start designing and marketing their own equipment and solutions using our basic technology platform." 

"With the shifting of the world's economic center of gravity to Asia, we would like to establish a larger presence in this region," he added, saying that the company is currently mapping out its business plan with a potential to invest in Penang.