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Years after plant's uncertainty, Fairchild thrives [The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.](Citizens' Voice, The (Wilkes-Barre, PA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sept. 14--WRIGHT TWP. -- Fairchild Semiconductor in the Crestwood Industrial Park has experienced a turnaround after nearly shutting its doors five years ago. The high-tech company, which makes microchips found in cars and electronic devices like cellphones, announced it would close its Wright Twp. facility in 2009. Two years later, Fairchild announced it would remain open and more than 200 people would keep their jobs. Today, Fairchild is doing well, said Steve Willison, senior human resources business partner, who recently led a tour of the Wright Twp. plant. Inside, workers wearing full body garments called "bunny suits" test microchips in a clean room. Since auto sales have improved, Fairchild Semiconductor is getting more orders for its automotive products, Mr. Willison said. Last year, auto sales rose to the highest level since the recession. "The automotive industry keeps the microchip industry pretty stable," he said. "The industry is cyclical and right now, the automotive industry is very strong." More than 200 people remain employed at the Wright Twp. plant today and the company is hiring two engineers, Mr. Willison said. He would not disclose salaries, but said the staff is "highly skilled and well-compensated." Fairchild employs an additional 30 in the Wilkes-Barre Center Building on Public Square. Employees include engineers and engineering technicians who work in design and automotive technology. Internationally, the San Jose, California-based Fairchild Semiconductor recently announced it would close its aging manufacturing and assembly facilities in Utah and Malaysia and some fabrication lines in South Korea. The changes will take effect between the second and fourth quarter of 2015 and the closures may affect about 15 percent of Fairchild's global workforce of 9,000 employees, the company announced. The company announced operations would continue at its more sophisticated plants, including Wright Twp. and South Portland, Maine. In the wake of the closures, some production likely will be moved to the Wright Twp. facility, Mr. Willison said. Internationally, Fairchild Semiconductor is known as the legendary and influential high-tech company that started Silicon Valley and spawned the semiconductor industry and today's digital revolution. "It is the longest continuously operating semiconductor facility in the world," Mr. Willison said. Locally, Fairchild Semiconductor was formerly RCA from 1960-1987, GE from 1987-1989, Harris from 1989-1999, Intersil from 1999-2001 and Fairchild from March 2001 to the present. RCA constructed the original building for $1 million in 1960 and completed an addition in 1967 costing $3.2 million and creating 86,000 square feet of space, according to the Wilkes-Barre Record. RCA initially employed 1,200 but announced in 1967 that employment was expected to reach 2,000. RCA made germanium transistors, silicon devices and many of the devices used in the government's space program. Today, Fairchild Semiconductor's buildings occupy 850,000 square feet of space on 84 acres in the Crestwood Industrial Park. Mr. Willison showed several areas have recently undergone renovations. One area is known as the "think tank" room, where equations are written on walls. "This is kind of like Silicon Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania," he said. Contact the writer: [email protected] ___ (c)2014 The Citizens' Voice (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) Visit The Citizens' Voice (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) at citizensvoice.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |