USD 2-bln investment to turn this small Czech town into a Silicon Valley

The US company Onsemi is drastically expanding its microchip production with possibly the largest foreign investments ever made in Czechia

Go ahead and mark Rožnov pod Radhoštěm on your maps. This small town located in the far east end of Czechia is now destined to become one of the largest microchip manufacturers in Eastern Europe after the US company Onsemi announced that it would invest 2 billion US dollars into expanding its facilities there to create a plant for silicon carbide semiconductors.

The planned production expansion has been described in the Czech media as the largest foreign private investment in the history of the country. It will surpass the three previous major investments that were all related to the car industry and include the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing and Toyota Peugeot Citroen plants made in the 2000s. South Korean Nexen Tire also opened a major plant in 2019.

The Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Sikela, however, said that even this new investment will boost the automotive sector of his country, aside from its high-tech economy benefits. In his view, microchip production would facilitate the transition to electromobility production, which is a rising trend.

Significant boost to local and national economy

Upon completion, the operation would contribute annually more than USD 270 million to the country’s GDP. In addition, the expectation is that the new plant will raise the number of jobs at the company’s site in Roznov from 1,700 to 3,000 and the production of 10 million chips will be surpassed by hundreds of per cent.

The town mayor Jan Kučera, quoted by Expats CZ, stated: "We are very happy because it is a type of production that has a high added value, does not have a large burden, and is built by a partner who has been active here for a long time and is one of the best."

The investment in his view will provide an “extraordinary opportunity” for the municipality as it will necessitate the improvement of public transport, public services and housing in order to accommodate incoming workers, some of whom may come from abroad.