Jabil Expands in Israel with the Opening of Optics Technology Innovation Center
Posted by Jennifer Read | May 24, 2018 | News, Automotive, EMS, Medical
HAIFA, ISRAEL – Green Point, a division of Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL), announced the opening of its new 2,000 square meter Optics Technology Innovation Center in Haifa, Israel. This development and manufacturing center will provide the Israel tech community – already recognized for driving worldwide innovations – with additional opportunities in computational cameras, projection systems and combined solutions.
"Our Optics Innovation Center is fundamental to Jabil's mission of becoming the most technologically advanced manufacturing services provider in the world," said Irv Stein, vice president of Jabil Optics. "We recognized the growing demand for premium optoelectronic solutions more than a decade ago, and proactively sought to address it with the acquisition of the Carl Zeiss projections systems group. Our support for optoelectronics customers has been on a steady, upward trajectory since. Today, our unique services help to drive the market for mobile devices, AR/VR, automotive solutions and medical devices to name a few, and we're well-positioned as a manufacturing services leader in this fast-growing market."
The new Jabil Optics facility – located in the Matam Park in Haifa – meets the growing demands of Jabil customers who are looking for specialized expertise and resources for complex assembly and integration of optoelectronic systems. This includes optical design; development and manufacturing capabilities for camera modules; and projection systems being produced in this facility. These solutions are important assets for smartphones, tablets, e-readers and laptops as they prepare to serve mobile, virtual, augmented and extended reality products seeing rapid growth and adoption. The Center will also create leading-edge automotive products and solutions including advanced driver-assistance components, DMS systems, head-up display units and LiDAR systems.
"Jabil's advanced manufacturing and technology capabilities are enabling the Automotive industry to develop increasingly complex electronics that improve safety, efficiency, intelligence and connectivity of all types of vehicles" said Chad Morley, vice president, Jabil Automotive & Transportation. "We're actively engaged in several global automotive opportunities to industrialize and bring to market advanced LiDAR solutions for mass-market adoption. By leveraging our cost-optimized hardware, global manufacturing expertise, and strategic partnerships, we can meet our customers' needs for dependable, high-quality products."
Today, Jabil employs more than 600 people in Israel and expects that number to continue to grow in the future. One of the compelling incentives for Jabil Optics to locate its Innovation Center in Haifa was to access the strong stream of technology resources and talent in the surrounding area.
Jabil Optics Evolution
Jabil's optics footprint initially began in the Optics Valley of Jena, Germany with the Carl Zeiss acquisition and quickly expanded to include process development and materials science expertise located in Silicon Valley in the United States. Optics expertise was further bolstered by the acquisition of Kasalis, an active alignment automation leader located outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Jabil continues to expand production and industrialization efforts in Huangpu (China), Taiwan, Guadalajara, and now in Haifa, to enable it to design, develop and deliver support and products to global customers.
Jabil Israel Evolution
Jabil's commitment to Israel's innovation economy began when the company established a presence in Israel in 2012 with the opening of its office in Ramat Ha'Chayal, Tel Aviv to focus on partnering with start-up and emerging companies. Jabil's presence expanded with the acquisition of Shemer Bar Lev and Shemer Yokneam in 2015, followed by the inclusion of Jabil's state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Kiryat Gat in 2016. Today's announcement of the new Optics facility in Haifa is the latest milestone in Jabil's dedication to doing business in Israel.
Jabil's strategy includes the participation of numerous ecosystem partners in Israel. As recently as July of 2017, Jabil entered into a strategic partnership with Israel-based eyeSight Technologies, to bring vision-based Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS) to market.
"The Jabil/eyeSight partnership offers a complete 'design to manufacturing' platform solution, enabling Automakers and Tier 1's to accelerate time to market, said Gideon Shmuel, CEO of eyeSight. "eyeSight's award-winning software requires less processing power, allowing it to run on lower-cost, industry standard processors, and be easily integrated into existing ARM architectures. This complements Jabil's miniaturized optics and hardware solutions, which can be seamlessly integrated into any cockpit electronics or vehicle interior."
"There is a huge opportunity developing throughout the world to utilize LiDAR sensing solutions in the automotive space – particularly as it relates to the mass commercialization of autonomous vehicles – and much of the excitement is being driven from what is now happening within the Optical Ecosystem in Israel," said Omer Keilaf, co-founder and CEO of Innoviz, headquartered in Israel. "Jabil is an important technology partner for Innoviz and their significant commitment to continuing its footprint expansion with an additional facility in Israel is going to further our ability to collaborate to the benefit of our joint customers and deliver breakthrough LiDAR sensing solutions to the world."
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