Intel Israel wants the company's next 22-nanometer fab

Intel Israel reported that revenue was up 145% in 2009 to $3.4 billion. Investment in the new fab would be $2.7 billion.

Intel Corporation is planning to build a 22-nanometer technology fab, the latest technology, which is due to come into operation in 2012, and Intel Israel wants its Fab 28 to be upgraded to this standard. When the Fab 28 was built, its 45-nanometer technology was state-of-the-art, but Intel has two 32-nanometer technology fabs, in Arizona and New Mexico, which are due to come online next year.

Intel Israel General Manager Maxine Fassberg said, "The first fab with this technology will be in Arizona, and we want to be the second fab. The investment in the fab is estimated at $2.7 billion, and we're in talks with the government on the size of a grant." Sources estimate the grant at $400-500 million. Fassberg adds that Intel will make a decision on the fab in March.

At the press conference to mark Intel Israel's results, Fassberg said, "I want to believe that the both the government and Intel understand the advantages of continuing production in Israel."

Intel Israel Ltd. posted $3.4 billion in sales in 2009, 145% more than in 2008, as the company's Fab 28 in Kiryat Gat entered full production.

Fassberg said, "2009 exceeded all our expectations. We brought the Kiryat Gat fab to peak production capacity."

Over the past decade, Intel Israel had $17.5 billion in exports. Intel Corporation (Nasdaq: INTC) invested $7.3 billion in Israel over the same period, including $3.3 billion in Fab 28. Intel Israel has 6,300 employees altogether at its fabs in Kiryat Gat and Jerusalem and at its R&D centers in Haifa, Petah Tikva, and Yakum. The company estimates that an additional 20,000 jobs are directly and indirectly related to its activity in Israel.

Intel made $392 million in reciprocal procurements from Israeli companies in 2009, including $103 million for the automation of production lines at its fabs. Intel Israel bought metrology equipment to diagnose flaws in the production process from Applied Materials Israel Ltd. and Jordan Valley Semiconductors Ltd., in which Intel invested $11 million in 2008.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 8, 2010

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2010

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