STMicroelectronics makes biggest single investment in Malta with expansion of Smart Factory

STMicroelectronics has confirmed the expansion of its Smart Factory in Malta, marking the largest single investment in the country's history. The announcement was made during the Global Semiconductor Conference Malta 2025, which brought together industry leaders, policymakers, and researchers to discuss developments in the global semiconductor sector. 

The conference highlighted Malta's growing role in Europe's semiconductor ecosystem and its efforts to attract high-value investment. During the event, Fabio Gualandris, President of Quality, Manufacturing and Technology at STMicroelectronics, unveiled the company's first humanoid robot for use in semiconductor manufacturing at its Malta packaging and test facility. 

The Global Semiconductor Conference Malta 2025 reinforced the nation's position as a strategic player in the global semiconductor industry. The €8 million Malta Semiconductor Competence Centre, cofinanced by the EU's Chips Joint Undertakings and established with the University of Malta, European partners, and IMEC in Belgium, will provide researchers and students with access to training and advanced facilities. 

Malta's manufacturing sector has undergone remarkable transformation since the 1980s. Since the 1980s the manufacture of computer parts, instruments, and electronics, as well as of a large variety of consumer products has been important. One of the first electronics companies to have established in Malta was the multinational STMicroelectronics ltd, which expanded to the country in 1981, when it was still called SGS Microelettronica. 

From the early days of low-cost mass production it has restructured and developed itself to higher value-added, high-end manufacturing, adopting more lean concepts and processes with a significant increase in research and development. Today, the sector contributes significantly to Malta's GDP and exports, cementing the country's reputation as a European hub for semiconductor innovation and advanced manufacturing.