Mitsui Kinzoku to build ¥190 billion copper foil plant in Malaysia

What happened

Mitsui Kinzoku announced it will build a new copper foil plant in Malaysia, with production starting in phases from April 2031. Total investment is approximately JPY 190 billion (EUR 1.08 billion), of which about JPY 144 billion goes to production equipment, JPY 32 billion to buildings and JPY 14 billion to land. The plant will be located near the company's existing Malaysian subsidiary, Mitsui Copper Foil (Malaysia), and will be funded through cash on hand, borrowings and other sources. The company attributes the expansion to the need to keep up with continued rapid growth in AI and semiconductors. The plant will make two products: MicroThin, a carrier-supported ultra-thin copper foil, and VSP, an electrodeposited copper foil for high-frequency circuit boards. Capacity will be added in steps from fiscal 2031 to fiscal 2033; over those three years the new plant adds 4 million square metres a month of MicroThin and 1,200 tonnes a month of VSP, bringing the company's total capacity across all sites to 12 million square metres of MicroThin and 2,600 tonnes of VSP per month. The site can be expanded further, with room for up to 3,600 tonnes a month of VSP capacity, and if the market keeps growing the company will also consider reaching a combined 5,000 tonnes a month across this and other sites. Including investments already planned up to fiscal 2030, Mitsui Kinzoku expects operating profit in its copper foil business to reach 3.2 times the fiscal 2025 level in fiscal 2030 and 5.5 times in fiscal 2033. For PCB makers, the plant offers relief but not soon: the first new capacity comes online in April 2031, more than four years away. The expansion remains a plan and not yet realized capacity.

Impact and signal

Affected components and suppliers

Source and time

Source: Evertiq · 11/13/2026 · View original source