Intel Corp. has announced plans to invest $345 million in two of the company's existing manufacturing sites in Colorado and Massachusetts. The investments will be used to increase the capacity of the wafer fabrications facilities (fabs), Fab 17 in Hudson, Massachusetts and Fab 23 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Both fabs are 200mm facilities that produce primarily chipsets communications and flash memory components for a variety of Intel platforms.

“These investments will increase the capacity of our 200mm manufacturing network to support our platform initiatives and will give us additional supply flexibility across a range of products,” said Bob Baker, senior vice president, general manager, Technology and Manufacturing Group.

In Colorado Springs $190 million will be invested as part of an upgrade to a second clean room within Fab 23 that will allow Intel to complete final processing steps for microprocessors – produced on 300mm wafers at other Intel locations – prior to final testing and packaging. Construction on the project is set to begin immediately, which will allow processing of advanced microprocessors in the second half of 2007. The project is expected to create several hundred new jobs in Colorado Springs over the next three years.

In Hudson, Intel’s $155 million investment will be used to increase overall capacity at Fab 17 by adding new manufacturing equipment and reconfiguring portions of the factory. The additional capacity will be used to manufacture a variety of logic products, including chipsets to support Intel's platform initiatives for mobile, desktop and server systems. This investment in Hudson will result in the creation more than 300 new manufacturing jobs.

“For Intel, manufacturing is a key competitive advantage that serves as the underpinning for our business and allows us to provide customers with leading-edge products in high volume. The decision to invest in our sites in Colorado and Massachusetts reflects the strategic importance of these facilities and our outstanding team of employees,” Mr. Baker added.

Separately, the company also announced that after an extensive search for a suitable location it has signed an agreement to purchase office property in Ft. Collins, Colorado to be used as a design center to house a portion of the company’s Itanium processor design team.