Production at the Newport Infineon plant is set to be increased over the next couple of years while its international owners start the process of looking for a buyer for the site.

The 540 staff at the Newport factory, which is close to Tredegar House, were told at a meeting this morning that the process of trying to find a buyer for the site could take up to two-and-a-half years.

But in the meantime Infineon, which bought International Rectifiers in January, were closing their plant in Singapore and moving some of that production to the Newport site.

A spokesman for Infineon told the Argus: “Newport staff were told this morning that a process has been started to find a buyer for the site and transition it over to a new owner.

“That will mean an increase in production in Newport which will be secure at maximum levels at least until the end of 2016. Throughout 2017 it will then transition to the new owner.”

The spokesman said there were no plans for redundancies at the moment.

The semi-conductor plant, close to the Duffryn housing estate on the west of Newport, was previously Newport Wafer Fab before becoming a base for International Rectifiers.

Speaking after it bought International Rectifiers in January Dr Reinhard Ploss, CEO of Infineon said: “The acquisition of International Rectifier is an important step for Infineon to foster our position as a global market leader in power semiconductors. We are sure that International Rectifier and its employees will make a great contribution to a joint successful future. Together both companies make a powerful combination.

“We offer our customers an unparalleled product portfolio. Our profound understanding of their needs enables us to provide the best possible and competitive solutions. The acquisition helps us to accelerate our strategic approach ‘from product thinking to system understanding’.”