Intel Plans Sandoval Expansion
By Aaron Baca and Carolyn Appelman
Journal Staff Writers
Intel Corp. is seeking a state building permit for a multibillion-dollar
expansion that would add more than 1 million square feet of manufacturing space
to its plant near Rio Rancho.
The project is expected to employ from 500 to 1,000 new workers, as well as
more than 2,000 construction workers at the project's height.
The application, filed with Sandoval County, says the project would include at
least one new building, adding onto current buildings and altering or repairing
some existing space.
"This is great news for New Mexico," said Jim Bonham, a spokesman for Sen.
Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.
Bingaman, Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and other dignitaries are expected to
make comments during a news conference Intel has scheduled for noon today in
Rio Rancho.
"The bottom line is that Intel is already one of the single largest corporations
in tax revenue generated in the state. They're proof positive that New Mexico is
a good place to do business," Bonham said.
The form is dated April 20 - eight days after Bill Sheppard, an Intel executive,
told a group of Albuquerque business people that Intel was considering
Sandoval County for a multibillion-dollar expansion. The project could bring the
company's new 12-inch wafer manufacturing process here.
Company officials on Tuesday declined to comment about the application,
which was filed with the county's planning and zoning office.
Officials at Portland, Ore.-based Hoffman Construction Co., which has worked
on other Intel projects in New Mexico and Israel, said Tuesday they have heard
rumblings about Intel planning an expansion in Sandoval County.
"I am hearing the same things you are hearing, that there are expansion
plans," said Bart Eberwein, a vice president at Hoffman. "The chip market has
come roaring back to life. All of our high-technology customers are wanting
additional capacities."
Hoffman would not say whether the company has been selected for a new
project, but said there have been "ongoing discussions" with Intel.
The chip-making giant's worldwide operations have undergone substantial
growth since the beginning of the year, say analysts with Dataquest in San
Jose, Calif.
Dataquest, which tracks trends within the technology industry, reports that
Intel is on track to spend $6.4 billion on capital improvements this year.
"Intel's capital expenditures have been ramping up since the beginning of the
year," said Klaus Rinnen, a Dataquest analyst who follows Intel manufacturing
plans.
Rinnen said such a project would likely be completed around the end of 2001.
And the project would make sense, Rinnen said, because of the recent demand
for Intel's microprocessors and memory chips. Plus, he said, silicon consumption
by the major semiconductor companies has increased substantially in the past
year.
An Intel expansion in New Mexico would bring benefits ranging from
increased tax revenues to more jobs, Bonham said.
A new expansion at the Sandoval County plant would be the second major
project at the facility this year.
Earlier this week, Intel officials said Sandoval County figured prominently in a
$2 billion total investment the company was making at three of its plants to
increase its production of flash memory chips. Retooling that is part of that
investment is under way.
At the Albuquerque Economic Development Corp.'s annual luncheon in
mid-April, Sheppard - Intel's vice president and director of corporate services,
as well as the former manager of Intel's Sandoval County operations - made
comments about a possible local expansion before at least 500 people.
"We're evaluating the New Mexico site right now," Sheppard said. "The
(selection) process should be made later this year."
Sheppard said at the time that Sandoval County was one of several Intel sites
under consideration for the expansion, which company officials had said would
cost more than $2 billion.
An expansion like that, economists have said, would send a jolt through New
Mexico's economy.
The state's economy has been stagnant since Intel completed its last
expansion in 1995, when its giant 1.4 million-square-foot Fab 11 plant was
built.
The application is a standard form used by the state's Construction Industries
Division in the Regulation and Licensing Department.
The form identifies Intel as the owner of the proposed project at 4100 Sara
Road SE in Rio Rancho (Intel's address). According to the application, the
building would be used as a microchip manufacturing plant.
The form lists the project as having a total of "1,069 ksf" - or 1,069,000 square
feet.
Austin Commercial of Dallas is listed as the project's contractor and Industrial
Design Corp. of Albuquerque is listed as the project's architect or engineer.
Company spokesmen said Tuesday they had no comment.
Journal staff writer Diane Velasco contributed to this report.
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