US manufacturing services company Jabil Inc's (NYSE:JBL) has announced today that its Green Point division has opened its new 2,000 square meter Optics Technology Innovation Center in Israel. The development and manufacturing center in Haifa will provide the Israel tech community with additional opportunities in computational cameras, projection systems and combined solutions
Jabil Optics VP Irv Stein said, “Our Optics Innovation Center is fundamental to Jabil’s mission of becoming the most technologically advanced manufacturing services provider in the world. 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 in Haifa's Matam Park will meet 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. In May 2017, Israeli car sensor company Innoviz announced a partnership with manufacturing company Jabil Optics to mass produce InnovizPro.
Jabil Automotive & Transportation VP Chad Morley said, “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. 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’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.
eyesight CEO Gideon Shmuel said, “The Jabil/eyeSight partnership offers a complete ‘design to manufacturing’ platform solution, enabling Automakers and Tier 1’s to accelerate time to market. 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.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 23, 2018
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