Linear Technology is in early talks with Camas city officials about the possibility of adding a second, identical wafer fabrication plant to its campus at 4200 N.W. Pacific Rim Blvd.
The expansion would double the production capacity at the site, which already holds a 105,000 square-foot plant, and could bring up to 300 new high-tech jobs to the area, said Linear Technology Chief Executive Officer Lothar Maier, during a visit to the plant on Monday.
The Milpitas, Calif.-based chipmaker last week announced record quarterly earnings of $311.3 million for the three months ended March 31, up 21 percent from the previous quarter. And the company is on pace for 7 percent to 10 percent growth in the second quarter, Maier said.
If that pace continues, the company could finally be ready to build out its long-planned expansion there, he said.
“We don’t have any concrete plans,” Maier said. “We still have space in the factory to expand the capacity and we plan to do that (first). We’re adding capital equipment this quarter and the next several quarters to pretty dramatically increase the capacity of the site.”
Linear, which employs 260 workers in Camas, has hired 30 employees since January and plans to add another 20 by mid-year. Now its factory is nearing capacity and there’s no room for expansion at its Milpitas plant.
The company has considered expanding the Camas campus off and on since it bought an adjacent lot in 2000, about six years after it chose Camas for its second semiconductor manufacturing facility in the U.S., said Paul Dennis, mayor of Camas.
Linear’s Camas factory cost $110 million to build in 1996, The Columbian reported at the time. It has since built two additions that filled the first lot, while the 16-acre parcel remains unused, awaiting a second phase of development.
The city is aware that Linear is considering the expansion, but hasn’t yet received specific details about the company’s plans, Dennis said. The city has, however, promised to expedite the permitting and development process as it has already done for Fisher Investments’ $30 million campus near Southeast 192nd Avenue and Logitech International’s new facility at Camas Meadows.
“It’s a good sign … that there’s long-term economic growth,” Dennis said. “You won’t build a second building of that size for a short blip.”
The company’s decision to expand hinges on continued strong results in coming quarters, Maier said. Once the company decides to proceed, Linear expects the plant to be operational within about 18 months, he said.
