Intel Corp. will invest $2 billion to convert its Chandler, Ariz., manufacturing plant to the production of 300-millimeter silicon wafers. The conversion project is slated to begin in 2004 and reach completion in 2005. The plant will be Intel's fifth 300mm plant. Intel, based in Santa Clara, Calif., employs 9,000 workers in Arizona.
Chip maker Shipley Co. LLC opened a new $30-million advanced technology R&D center in early February 2003. The 65,000-sf Marlborough, Mass. facility features a 5,000-sf cleanroom. The new facility will accommodate Shipley's microelectronics division, which makes photosensitive resins and coating used in the lithographic processes of semiconductor manufacturing.
Sanford manufacturer MeikleEMS is building a 25,000-sf facility in Sanford for the production of automated assembly and test systems. The new building will allow the company to triple its existing workforce. MeikleEMS is a division of Meikle Automation of Kitchener, Canada, created after the acquisition of Electro-Mechanical Specialties of Sanford in spring 2002.
Ryder System Inc. is opening a 90,000-sf distribution center in the Business Center @ TechRidge in Northeast Austin. Logistics company Ryder is providing supply chain management for Austin-based Applied Materials Inc., a maker of equipment used by semiconductor manufacturers.
Mykrolis, formerly Millipore Microelectronics Inc., is relocating its headquarters to 180,000 sf in Billerica. The semiconductor equipment company will finish moving its 250 Massachusetts employees into the building by March 2003. Mykrolis, now an independent entity, is relocating from the Bedford office of its former parent company, Millipore Corp. Mykrolis' new facility was previously a local campus of Brampton, Ontario-based Nortel Networks Ltd.
The University of Albany and Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL) are planning to site a $300-million chip R&D facility at the University's Nanotech complex, comprised of NanoFab I and NanoFab II. TEL and its partners will invest $200-million in the center, with the state of New York contributing over the next seven years $100-million in capital construction, equipment and specialized tools for research.
KLA-Tencor Corp. of San Jose celebrated the opening of its new 120,000-sf Livermore facility in November 2002. Consolidating twelve training sites, the training and customer support center has now been occupied by 200 employees. The facility houses 31 state-of-the-art classrooms. KLA-Tencor has completed construction of an additional manufacturing building on the site which will remain closed until market demand increases.
Storage Technology, a global data storage firm operating as StorageTek, is relocating its regional office from Silver Spring into 25,000-sf at the Lyndwood Executive Center in Elkridge, Md. The Louisville, Colo.-based firm will relocate 135 employees for the company's public sector marketing business unit to the new facility by early 2003. The relocation is estimated to cost $2.5-million.
The Memec Group of San Diego will relocate in March 2003 from 70,000- f in two Sorrento Mesa buildings to a five-story, 115,000-sf facility under construction in Del Mar Heights. The global semiconductor distributor will initially occupy 92,000-sf with an option to lease the remaining 23,000-sf within one to two years.
Digital Optics Corp., maker of integrated micro-optical systems, recently occupied a 100,000-sf facility in Charlotte's University Research Park. Manufacturing operations will utilize 67,000 sf, with office space in the remaining 37,000 sf.
Hewlett Packard was recently awarded the Association of Briefing Program Managers 2002 trophy for best new or renovated center in the nation for its 400,000-sf Executive Briefing Center in Cupertino. Designed for all technology to be invisible, the renovated 14-year-old center houses product showcases and shareholder and company meetings. The 10-month project was completed by Toeniskoeter & Breeding and RMW Architecture and Interiors of San Francisco.
National Semiconductor Corp. of Santa Clara, Calif., will build a state-of-the-art computer chip assembly and test plant 40 miles west of Shanghai, China. The $200-million facility will be located on a 36-acre campus in the Suzhou Industrial Park and will employ 500 workers. The plant will be operational in 2004.
Concord EFS, a leading electronic commerce provider, has acquired 27 acres of land for a new, state-of-the-art world headquarters campus. Construction will begin immediately on the 285,000-sf campus and is scheduled for completion in spring 2004. Almost 1,000 employees will be located at the new facility, consolidating the company's workforce from five Memphis locations into one. The executive offices, administrative functions, customer service operations, terminal deployment facilities, and high-tech data center will be located on site.
Network storage firm Sun Microsystems has awarded Cushman & Wakefield a three-year multimillion-dollar contract to provide facilities and cost management services for its 220 nationwide properties. Effective October 1, the contract comprises 11.2 million sf and will be serviced from San Francisco. Cushman, retained to save on expenses and provide tech upgrades to the campuses, will hire over 200 employees to handle the account. Services provided by Cushman include accounting, administration, call center management, energy management, engineering, and health and safety issues.
The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University is in the process of raising $80 million for capital projects. A gift of $500,000 has been contributed by Cisco Systems to create Fuqua's Center for Innovation and Educational Technologies.
