Brighter times are on the horizon for the semiconductor industry. Doug Andrey, director of finance and principal industry analyst of the Semiconductor Industry Association, looks for a modest recovery of 6 percent in 2002, followed by 21 percent in 2003 and in 2004.
Why such optimism?
"The industry bottomed in the third quarter of 2001 and was flat in the fourth quarter," said Andrey. "In 2001, $15 billion of excess inventory produced in 2000 accumulated. By the second half of 2002, this will be worked off or will be obsolete. The recovery in progress will continue."
Intel grows in Rio Rancho
Despite the slow economy, Intel embarked on the largest industrial expansion in the United States in 2001, a $2 billion project at its Rio Rancho, N.M., facility. Completion is scheduled for the second half of this year. The project includes a fabrication plant, expansion of a building for utilities, and a four-story office building.
"Intel looks to existing sites when considering expansion because the criteria needed has already been qualified in a previous site selection process," said Terrence McDermott, of Intel Rio Rancho. Intel has been in New Mexico since 1980.
The location met basic criteria essential for Intel and other technology businesses to operate efficiently.
"We needed a flat parcel of land for the plant. Transportation was another consideration. There's a great interstate system and an airport close by," said McDermott. "For our manufacturing process, it's critical to have a ready and reliable power supply, which is available here."
New Mexico is free of natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes, decreasing the likelihood of production interruptions. The manufacturing process requires a lot of water, which New Mexico can easily supply. The Rio Rancho facility uses 3 million gallons of water a day.
Appreciative of the resources, Intel recently won the Green Zia Excellence Award from the New Mexico Environmental Department for its outstanding environmental efforts. Intel is the first company to win this award. It achieved a water conservation rate of more than 50 percent, and recycled 76 percent of solid wastes and 78 percent of waste solvents.
The area also has a ready supply of engineers and technology workers.
"One thing that attracted Intel founder Gordon Moore to the area was the labs: Los Alamos, Sandia National, and the research at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque," said McDermott.
Shovel-ready sites in New York
Marcy, N.Y., just north of Utica, is fulfilling an original master plan devised for the State University of New York Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome. Across from the college campus sits a greenfield site of 280 acres, farmland earmarked in the 1970s as green space for future development.
Marcy plans to attract chip fabrication and advanced technology companies with its ready infrastructure, labor force, and quality of life. The water system, sewer and electric load capacity at the site already meet chip fabrication standards.
Situated in the Adirondacks, the area provides year-round recreation.
Carol Bartley is a freelance writer from Downers Grove, Ill.
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