The US company bought the fab after the UK government forced its previous owners Nexperia to sell the factory over security concerns that the company, which is a subsidiary of Wingtech of Shanghai, would be unduly influenced by its Chinese connections.
The Welsh government is supporting the new investment with £5 million and the Welsh government Economy Secretary Rebecca Evans said that Wales was now “increasingly a world-leading nation” in semiconductor production.
The semiconductors made at the site are used in millions of electronic products, from smartphones to household equipment and cars.
Vishay bought the plant outright in November 2023 for a reported £142m, securing more than 400 jobs in the process. However, the deal did include several conditions one of which was that the UK government must be informed if Vishay plans to enter into any future agreement to sell, transfer or lease to any third party that would give them access to the factory.
The chip factory began as Inmos in 1980 but has changed hands numerous times in the decades since and is the UK's largest manufacturer of semiconductors.
The site is seen as being hugely important to the Welsh government’s plans to develop a semiconductor cluster in southeast Wales.
