Politicians visit Infineon in Dresden

Gabriel spoke with Dr. Reinhard Ploss, CEO of Infineon Technologies AG, and the Infineon Dresden management about the importance of the semiconductor industry for Germany as an economic site. Another topic was Industry 4.0, the development of a connected and intelligent factory of the future. Gabriel was able to get a sneak peak of the opportunities of this trend through a live link to the current production of Infineon.

“Industry 4.0 is a great opportunity for Germany if we use it right,” said Ploss. “Data security is critical to the successful implementation of this future-oriented project and to the success of German companies competing in the global market.” Confidence in data security is decisive for the successful implementation of ‘Industry 4.0’. Security chips from Infineon improve system integrity and data security.

Gabriel learned about new product and system solutions and the strategic “from product to system” approach Infineon pursues. Ploss explained: “With a broad understanding of the system, Infineon is contributing to innovations in successful German industries such as automotive engineering, industrial equipment and energy technology. We understand our role as system partners of our clients.”

In Dresden, with roughly 2,000 employees, Infineon runs one of its largest and most modern manufacturing and technology development sites. In the past five years, Infineon has invested around €600m in Dresden. On the one hand, the funds were allocated to production on 200mm silicon wafers. Today, the company’s 200mm production line is the most highly automated anywhere in the world. Also, in Dresden, Infineon is currently building the world's first high-volume production of power semiconductors on 300mm thin wafers and is also planning on investing several hundred million euros in the coming years.