MAY 2004
NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL REVIEW
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New England
Logs High-Tech
Expansions
Logs High-Tech
Expansions
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uiet, picturesque Vermont may be small in square miles, but it doesn't lack in drawing power. The state topped the chart in Allied Van Lines' latest annual Magnet States Report with 69.1 percent inbound moves. Vermont regained the title it held in 2001 and, along with Maine and Rhode Island, is one of three New England states showing positive influx. While the statistics do not necessarily translate to an influx of major industrial projects, the region is registering some gains in the knowledge economy.
Infineon Technologies, the fifth largest semiconductor manufacturer in North America, is investing US$10 million to expand its development center in the Burlington, Vt., suburb of Williston. The company is in the midst of boosting its employment at the site from about 50 to 100 by September 2004. Infineon opened its design center in 2001, but the company has a long history in Vermont, dating back to an alliance between its former parent, Siemens, and IBM. The expanded facility will encompass about 30,000 sq. ft. (2,787 sq. m.).
Williston is a center of development for CellularRAM, a new type of standard memory technology to improve capabilities of mobile phones and other battery-powered portable devices. Infineon also manufactures the product at its facilities in Cary, N.C. (where the company is adding 400 high-paying jobs), and Munich, Germany.
"CellularRam is a new business we decided to become active in," says Frank Gelsdorf, head of the design center. "In addition to being the center of development for the new product, the Williston facility develops manufacturing test programs and provides product support.
Gelsdorf says since the design community for the product is not that large, Infineon hires from around the globe, and has created a diverse work force in Williston with representatives from Germany, Scotland, Korea, Taiwan and Tunisia.
Vermont's high-tech efforts may receive a boost as the Bennington Microtechnology Center develops. The project is getting $3.5 million from the U.S. Office of Naval Research to develop microsystem technologies for Navy use. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in nearby Troy, N.Y., has signed on as a partner at the center, which will be developed in North Bennington. Rensselaer's Center for Automation Technologies will play a major role in the research.
Mark Halfacre, director of wafer fab operations at South Portland, says National has three plants in the world (others are in Texas and Scotland), and the Maine facility is the newest and has the most available room for expansion. Since the plants run different technologies, Maine was the only site considered for the project.
Semiconductor manufacturing at the site, located next to the Portland International Jetport, dates back to 1962 with Fairchild Semiconductor. National acquired Fairchild in 1988 and then the two split in 1997. The facility being expanded opened in 1996 and has room for further growth if business warrants, Halfacre says.
"Business has been good this year," Halfacre says. "We've been on a good upturn for the past six months."
In 1995, National considered several locations, including Texas, for the plant that wound up in South Portland, Halfacre says. Part of the incentive to expand in Maine back then was the Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement Program (BETR). That program, in which the state reimburses a company for local taxes, is still in effect for the current expansion, he says.
National has invested more than $1 billion in the 575,000-sq.-ft. (53,417-sq.-m.) plant since 1995.
Fairchild, meanwhile, is doing some stout investing of its own at its adjacent site in South Portland. Experiencing strong growth, the company invested $30 million in technology last year and plans to spend another $33 million this year, says Fairchild spokeswoman Patti Olson. The projects involve closing a four-inch wafer line and expanding a six-inch line. No jobs will be created, she says.
Infineon Technologies, the fifth largest semiconductor manufacturer in North America, is investing US$10 million to expand its development center in the Burlington, Vt., suburb of Williston. The company is in the midst of boosting its employment at the site from about 50 to 100 by September 2004. Infineon opened its design center in 2001, but the company has a long history in Vermont, dating back to an alliance between its former parent, Siemens, and IBM. The expanded facility will encompass about 30,000 sq. ft. (2,787 sq. m.).
Williston is a center of development for CellularRAM, a new type of standard memory technology to improve capabilities of mobile phones and other battery-powered portable devices. Infineon also manufactures the product at its facilities in Cary, N.C. (where the company is adding 400 high-paying jobs), and Munich, Germany.
"CellularRam is a new business we decided to become active in," says Frank Gelsdorf, head of the design center. "In addition to being the center of development for the new product, the Williston facility develops manufacturing test programs and provides product support.
Gelsdorf says since the design community for the product is not that large, Infineon hires from around the globe, and has created a diverse work force in Williston with representatives from Germany, Scotland, Korea, Taiwan and Tunisia.
Vermont's high-tech efforts may receive a boost as the Bennington Microtechnology Center develops. The project is getting $3.5 million from the U.S. Office of Naval Research to develop microsystem technologies for Navy use. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in nearby Troy, N.Y., has signed on as a partner at the center, which will be developed in North Bennington. Rensselaer's Center for Automation Technologies will play a major role in the research.
Chip Demand Powering Up Maine's Fabs
Maine clicked on a nice high-tech expansion of its own with National Semiconductor's announcement in January 2004 that it would invest $58 million in its South Portland manufacturing facility to increase capacity to meet surging demand for its analog products. National plans to add 100 jobs at the plant by the end of 2004, bringing the work force to about 700.
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Mark Halfacre, director of wafer fab operations at South Portland, says National has three plants in the world (others are in Texas and Scotland), and the Maine facility is the newest and has the most available room for expansion. Since the plants run different technologies, Maine was the only site considered for the project.
Semiconductor manufacturing at the site, located next to the Portland International Jetport, dates back to 1962 with Fairchild Semiconductor. National acquired Fairchild in 1988 and then the two split in 1997. The facility being expanded opened in 1996 and has room for further growth if business warrants, Halfacre says.
"Business has been good this year," Halfacre says. "We've been on a good upturn for the past six months."
In 1995, National considered several locations, including Texas, for the plant that wound up in South Portland, Halfacre says. Part of the incentive to expand in Maine back then was the Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement Program (BETR). That program, in which the state reimburses a company for local taxes, is still in effect for the current expansion, he says.
National has invested more than $1 billion in the 575,000-sq.-ft. (53,417-sq.-m.) plant since 1995.
Fairchild, meanwhile, is doing some stout investing of its own at its adjacent site in South Portland. Experiencing strong growth, the company invested $30 million in technology last year and plans to spend another $33 million this year, says Fairchild spokeswoman Patti Olson. The projects involve closing a four-inch wafer line and expanding a six-inch line. No jobs will be created, she says.