Power Integrations inaugurates new facility in Biel

Californian company Power Integrations, a specialist in power management components, has just inaugurated its new headquarters in Biel.

Power Integrations, a U.S.-based semiconductor development company, has inaugurated its new headquarters in Biel, in the canton of Bern, where the company has operated since 2012 following its acquisition of CT-Concept Technologie AG.

Employing nearly 770 people and listed on the stock exchange, the company innovates in the field of semiconductor technologies for high-voltage energy conversion. This process enables the production, transport and consumption of renewable energy.

The new building brings together all the company’s employees on four floors. Some 60 employees – most of them engineers – work in the new building. The land was purchased by the company from the city of Biel in early 2019. A right of pre-emption was also granted to the company for a future expansion. The entire project cost Power Integrations around CHF 20 million.

Easy access to talent and skills as a deciding factor

The city authorities were motivated to sell the building zone three years earlier by a commitment to further promote the development of new technologies.

“Our company relies on innovation, and there is a lot of talent and skills here,” says Balu Balakrishnan, CEO of Power Integrations, who also noted the ease of hiring in Western Switzerland compared to other countries where the company’s research and development centers are located.

Engineered according to strict environmental standards, the new site also features a solar installation on the roof.

Having continuously invested and expanded in Biel over the past decade, Power Integrations also operates R&D centers in Canada, Malaysia and the UK, as well as design support centers in Germany and the Philippines.