While lackluster earnings and layoffs have dominated the business news, one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers has just built a $2-billion wafer fabrication facility that recently opened in Chandler, AZ.
The new Intel plant known as “Fab 22” on the company’s 705-acre Ocotillo campus is using an advanced 130-nanometer process to produce a new generation of wafer-shaped microprocessors.
The circuits created by this technology are so small that it would take roughly 1,000 of them to equal the thickness of a human hair. Intel’s manufacturing process will equip each chip with more, smaller and faster transistors.
According to Intel spokeswoman Jeanne Forbis, the company decided that setting up a plant in Chandler was a prudent move, in part because the cost of doing business is less than in areas such as California’s Silicon Valley. The company began building facilities in the Chandler area some 20 years ago.
Producing microprocessors requires a meticulously clean environment. Fab 22 is a Class 1 “cleanroom,” which, in some respects, meets more exacting standards than a hospital operating room.
The new Fab contains approximately 133,000 sq. ft. of cleanroom space out of the facility’s total 360,000 sq. ft.
Hoffman General Contracting, Portland, OR, was the prime contractor for the project. The 80-year-old contracting firm, whose clients have included Boeing, Hewlett-Packard and British Petroleum, has extensive experience in high-tech projects.
The contractor has built microprocessor manufacturing facilities in New Mexico and other parts of the world including Israel.
Hoffman project manager Tom Schourd said that even though his company routinely handles demanding projects, building to the cleanroom standards necessary for microprocessor production was still a challenge.
Nonetheless, according to Intel, 4,200 construction workers completed the facility in less than 18 months.
In addition to the cleanroom, the project included a four-story, 320,000-sq. ft. (29,729 sq m) manufacturing support building and a 123,000 sq. ft. (11,427 sq m) central utility building.
Nearly 58,000 cu. yd. (44,344 cu m) of cement was used in construction.
Another eight million lbs. (3.6 million kg) of rebar, and 3,500 tons (3,150 t) of steel went into the project.
Forbis said 82 percent of construction-generated solid waste was recycled, totaling more than 36 million lbs. of concrete, asphalt, wood, metals and other materials.
A $20-million Industrial Water Management system was built to treat manufacturing process water and reuse it in equipment such as cooling towers and scrubbers.
Evidence of Intel’s intention to be a good neighbor includes its exceeding local setback requirements by voluntarily building Fab 22 1,000 ft. from residential property.
Intel’s arrival in Chandler in 1981 was partially due to Foreign Trade Zone tax incentives the city offered toward the construction of the company’s first facility in west Chandler, Fab 6. Forbis said Chandler offered Intel a significant property tax break, which allowed the company to leverage its assets and buy new equipment.
Dave Bigos, public information officer for Chandler, said Intel’s decision to locate its manufacturing plants in Chandler was an all-around boost for the small community
“They’ve brought in many high-quality jobs. They’ve been a major boost to our economy,” he said.
The Intel facility has hired more than 1,000 employees including technicians and engineers. Intel is Chandler’s largest employer, with 10,000 employees overall.
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