MKS expands Atotech equipment capacity

MKS is investing $25m to expand its Atotech equipment manufacturing site in Guangzhou, China, adding around 323,000 sq ft of manufacturing and operations space.

The expansion is expected to double the site’s production capacity when completed, with full completion targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027. The additional space will be integrated with existing operations, adding capacity across production, final assembly, logistics, testing, and validation.

The investment is being driven by demand in AI-related electronics markets, particularly semiconductor manufacturing, advanced packaging, and advanced PCB applications. Atotech, a brand within MKS’ Materials Solutions Division, develops process and manufacturing technologies for surface modification, electroless and electrolytic plating, and surface finishing.

The Guangzhou project also includes continued support for R&D and customer collaboration, alongside a photovoltaic power system intended to supply a significant portion of daytime electricity demand. The site expansion is designed to improve production flow, reduce operational complexity, shorten lead times, and increase delivery reliability.

AI infrastructure growth depends on far more than leading-edge processors. Packaging substrates, high-density PCBs, plating processes, via structures, surface preparation, and process-control equipment determine whether compute hardware can be manufactured at scale. Constraints in any of those areas can slow the delivery of servers, accelerators, switches, and power electronics even when silicon supply improves.

Advanced packaging is carrying a growing share of system performance. Chiplet architectures, high-bandwidth memory, larger modules, and tighter interconnect geometries all demand more controlled manufacturing processes. Equipment used for plating, surface finishing, and materials processing sits directly behind the ability to produce reliable packages and substrates at volume.

The same pattern is visible in semiconductor collaboration, where advanced logic manufacturing partnerships involving the UK are widening the focus beyond individual fabs. MKS’ expansion sits further down the equipment and process chain, but it addresses the same structural requirement: advanced electronics capability needs capacity across the full manufacturing stack.

PCB production is being pulled in the same direction. Higher layer counts, HDI structures, controlled impedance routing, and dense power distribution increase dependence on process stability. Plating uniformity, surface preparation, chemical control, and validation capacity have a direct effect on yield and long-term reliability.

The Atotech site expansion also shows how AI demand is spreading through manufacturing infrastructure. Power conversion, thermal systems, networking hardware, memory, packaging, PCBs, and process equipment are all part of the same build-out. Production capacity has to rise across each layer if high-density infrastructure is to be deployed at the pace now expected by cloud and enterprise customers.

European electronics manufacturers remain connected to this global process chain even when final design, qualification, or assembly work is regional. Substrates, materials, equipment platforms, and process technologies move through international supply networks. Delays or shortages in Asian manufacturing equipment capacity can feed into lead times for European industrial, communications, automotive, and data-centre electronics.

MKS’ investment gives Atotech additional scale in a segment where process capability is becoming as strategically significant as component supply. As board and package designs become denser, the manufacturing equipment behind them will carry more of the burden for yield, repeatability, and delivery schedule.