KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, October 26, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH), the global leader in implantable hearing solutions, has today announced the expansion of its global manufacturing facility in Kuala Lumpur, elevating Malaysia as one of the global powerhouses in the manufacture and maintenance of hearing implant sound processors.

The new expansion involves an investment of more than RM30 million to support the company’s growing demand for cochlear and acoustic hearing implants in Malaysia as well as more than 180 other countries around the world. For the last six years, Cochlear’s site in the country has created more than 270 new job opportunities.

Datuk Wira Arham Abdul Rahman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), stated in his welcome address, “Cochlear's decision to expand its global manufacturing footprint in Malaysia will reaffirm our position not only as an ASEAN destination for innovative and advanced manufacturing, but also as a world-leading medical devices investment destination. Cochlear has also provided a flexible approach to training local talent from the diploma level and beyond with an attractive pay system above the national minimum wage. The local talents are given the knowledge and skills that are not confined to medical devices but could also be applied in various industries.”

Dig Howitt, CEO and President of Cochlear said, “This expansion is key to our mission to help hundreds of thousands of people around the world to hear. In addition to increasing our ability to make more sound processors, the new Global Distribution Centre supports efficiencies in transporting goods, and sustainability benefits by reducing the air miles travelled between us and our suppliers. We’re very grateful for the strong support and partnership from MIDA, Malaysia’s Ministry of Health (MOH) and Association of Malaysian Medical Industries (AMMI) that has allowed us to grow in Malaysia, making Kuala Lumpur our third largest site in the Cochlear network.”

The event was also attended by a 10-year-old, Olyvia Kuan Yu Qin, from Tawau, Sabah, who was born with profound hearing loss. Olyvia’s hearing loss was diagnosed at 20 months old, and she received cochlear implants at the age of 2 years old. Olyvia said, “I was born deaf. It was a big surprise for my parents. Now I can hear and speak with the help of my cochlear implants. I had to work hard to catch up on learning to hear, but now, I love reading, drama, acting, singing, and dancing.”

The new expanded site will manufacture and maintain Cochlear’s latest and most advanced cochlear and acoustic implant sound processers. With over 300 employees, the facility which spanning the area of 50,000 square feet will include the company’s global logistics, supply chain, and information technology services. As part of Cochlear’s global target to achieve net zero carbon emissions in its operations by 2030, the manufacturing site is also powered by 100 per cent renewable energy. The initiative is aligned with the country's vision of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Adding on to this, the Malaysia’s site is one of company’s eight global operations to oversee the design, development, manufacture and supply for the Australian-headquartered company.

In the 2021-22 fiscal year, Cochlear provided more than 40,000 hearing implants to adults and children around the world. The number of children in Malaysia who could benefit from a hearing implant may be set to rise. By 2024, the Government of Malaysia aims to implement universal newborn hearing screening in 95 per cent of public and private hospitals to identify children and determine who could benefit from an assistive hearing device. Currently, only 65 per cent of hospitals in Malaysia offer this service. In Malaysia, approximately 1,500 children are born with hearing loss every year on average. By expanding the newborn hearing screening programme, thousands more children in Malaysia could gain the opportunity to hear and reach their full potential and enables the parents to receive the necessary support and advice needed right from the start.

Ms. Azlina Hamdan
Malaysian Investment Development Authority
+6 03-2267 3791
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