Reported by Thailand’s Mgronline on October 3rd, Lumentum—a U.S.-based global leader in photonics technology—has unveiled a historic expansion investment in Thailand, reshaping the existing market landscape. The company will upgrade its Thai facility into a global flagship manufacturing site to cater to the world’s soaring demand for photonics components, which are critical to artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and high-speed communication systems.
Michael Ellis, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Lumentum, emphasized that Thailand is far more than a low-cost manufacturing base. It is a strategic hub with a globally competitive, skilled workforce—one built on the country’s decades-long expertise in the hard disk drive (HDD) and electronics industries. This investment aims to lay a new foundation: at a time when Thailand’s electronics sector faces pressures from technological transformation and rising manufacturing costs, it will propel the nation to emerge as an Asian Photonics Hub and embark on a new S-curve to drive digital economic growth over the next decade.
Strategic Investment: 4x Capacity Boost to Drive Thai Revenue to USD 4 Billion
To meet the booming demand from AI and data center markets, Lumentum plans to quadruple the production capacity of its Thai facility within two years. The company has already scaled up its local workforce dramatically: from 3,000 to over 6,000 employees in just nine months—a doubling of staff in less than a year—and it expects to grow this number to 11,000 in the near term.
“Every job we create generates an additional five jobs across the supply chain,” noted Kok Wai Ho, Senior Vice President (SVP) of Global Facilities at Lumentum. He added that Lumentum’s growth alone is projected to stimulate and sustain a total of 30,000 jobs within Thailand’s broader economic ecosystem.
By 2028-2029, the output value of photonics components produced in Thailand is expected to reach USD 4 billion. When factoring in investments from upstream suppliers and the wider industrial chain, this expansion will create an estimated total economic value of USD 30 billion for Thailand.
Thailand’s Photonics Ecosystem: A Departure from Traditional Electronics
What distinguishes Lumentum’s investment from past electronics industry projects is its commitment to integrating the entire photonics industrial ecosystem into Thailand. Currently, key upstream, midstream, and downstream suppliers in the global photonics sector have committed to establishing manufacturing facilities in Thailand. This will not only strengthen local supply chain connectivity and reduce reliance on imported components but also unlock opportunities for Thai small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to enter the high-precision component market. This includes areas like precision metal parts, Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) boards, and optical equipment—segments that have long been dominated by foreign manufacturers.
Michael Ellis, Lumentum’s CEO, further highlighted that two factors have solidified Thailand’s appeal for international investors: policy support from Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) and the ongoing upgrade of industrial infrastructure in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). These developments have positioned Thailand as a “precision manufacturing and photonics hub” capable of hosting future-forward industries.
New Economic Structure: From “Made in Thailand” to “Designed in Thailand”
Beyond creating manufacturing roles, Lumentum has explicitly stated it will elevate Thailand from a mere production base to an innovation hub. It plans to achieve this by establishing domestic Research and Development (R&D) centers and a dedicated Lumentum Photonics Laboratory in the country. The goal is to upskill the local workforce into a talent pool capable of independently designing and developing photonics products—rather than just assembling them. To this end, Lumentum is collaborating with Thailand’s top-tier universities to develop specialized academic programs in photonics and laser technology, aligned with the skill requirements of the global photonics market.
“We are laying the groundwork for Thailand to not only produce photonics products but also design and innovate them independently,” said Dr. Prong Kongsuphop, Senior Director and Chief of Staff & External Affairs at Lumentum. “Establishing R&D centers and laboratories here is the first step in transitioning Thailand from a ‘maker’ to an ‘innovator’ in the global photonics sector.”
Thailand’s Economy and the New S-Curve Trend
The photonics industry is widely viewed as Thailand’s next “S-curve” growth driver—following the automotive and petrochemical sectors that previously fueled the nation’s economic expansion. Three key factors support this outlook:
Dr. Prong stressed that this is a critical window for Thailand to revitalize its slowing electronics industry. If the nation can quickly build up its talent pipeline and R&D capabilities, it will position itself as a “Tier-1 manufacturing and innovation center” in the global photonics market—a sector projected to be worth trillions of dollars over the next decade.
Lumentum’s investment is more than a single corporate expansion. It is a catalyst for Thailand to upgrade its entire industrial chain, create high-skill jobs for local workers, and shift toward a higher-value-added economy—reducing its reliance on traditional industries that are approaching market saturation.