JOHOR BAHRU, JOHOR, MALAYSIA -- ATA IMS will add at least six SMT lines in 2019 as part of a major expansion, the firm said this week.

Company management told stock analysts that expansion in electronics assembly and plastic molding is planned in the wake of higher orders.

ATA IMS has purchased multiple buildings in Jalan Hasil and Japan Dewani, Johor Bahru, with a combined production floor space of 375,922 sq. ft. The deals bring the EMS firm's overal capacity to nearly one million sq. ft. of production space.

ATA plans to double its number of plastic injection molding machines to 110 machines and add four final assembly lines, bringing the total to 12 lines. The additional SMT lines will bring ATA's total to 10.

Formerly Denko Industrial Corp., ATA IMS was established in 1972. It employs more than 7,000 workers and its sales for its second fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30 were $169 million, mostly from plastic molding shipments.