Varian Medical Systems will expand its existing Salt Lake City operations, with plans to build a 70,000 square foot facility for the production of flat-panel digital X-ray image detectors.

Palo Alto, Calif.,-based Varian expects the new facility to be operational by December 2006. The company will create 100 to 250 technically oriented jobs during the next five years as a result of the $10 million project.

Varian’s current 268,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Salt Lake City employs more than 460 workers who produce X-ray tubes for medical and industrial applications.

By locating the new facility in Salt Lake City, Varian will consolidate the support functions needed to operate a manufacturing facility, helping to solidify its position in the market, according to the company.

Utah was in competition with Nevada for the project. The Economic Development Corp. of Utah will give Varian a tax rebate incentive. Varian will receive rebates of up to $1 million over 10 years for the creation of jobs that pay at least 125 percent of the county median.

Cabinet Maker Builds in Salt Lake City Metro

Another manufacturer, KraftMaid Cabinetry, broke ground last month on an 840,000 square foot manufacturing facility in West Jordan in the Salt Lake City metro after a heated battle with New Mexico for the project. It will be KraftMaid’s first plant west of the Mississippi River.

Cabinet production in West Jordan is expected to begin in January 2007. When manufacturing is at full capacity, 1,300 workers will produce about 6,000 cabinets daily.

With a state-of-the-art facility in the Salt Lake Valley, coupled with the metro area’s labor base and access to major transportation corridors, KraftMaid will be positioned to provide better service to customers in the western and central portions of the country, said Tom Chieffe, president of the Middlefield, Ohio-based company.

“Our western facility will help to support the continuation of our dynamic growth throughout the country,” he said. “The western corridor is a high demand area.”

In February, the company was set to announce West Jordan as the site of the plant when the state of New Mexico made an 11th hour bid for the project, offering millions in incentives.

That forced Utah officials to raise its original incentive package of $2.25 million from the Industrial Assistance Fund to more than $3.2 million in tax rebates and eliminating the requirement calling for the jobs to pay at least 125 percent of the county median.

“Building products that improve the lives of families is what has made our company successful,” Chieffe said. “We believe that in West Jordan, we’ve found a community to support us in that tradition.”