Integra Technologies — the largest Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) company in the United States — in early February announced it will invest $1.8 billion in a large-scale facility in Wichita, bringing 2,000 jobs to Kansas.
In a recent interview with KansasBizNews.com, Integra Technologies President & CEO Brett Robinson emphasized the impact the company’s expansion will have on the state’s economy.
“This is a transformative project for us, the region and the state,” Robinson said. “We will have high paying jobs and a cutting-edge industry that’s going to shape the global economy for the next several decades.”
The announcement comes after the state’s Financial Council approved the company’s Attracting Powerful Economic Expansion (APEX) incentive application.
“APEX exists to promote unique large-scale opportunities at economic and job growth, and there is no better way to do that than having a Kansas company step up and fulfill our commitment to boost the Kansas economy and grow the Kansas workforce,” Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson said in a news release about the project. “Wichita is increasingly the epicenter of critical global industries, and this exciting megaproject continues that proud tradition.”
Under the megadeal, a $1.8 billion investment in the computer chip industry will be made in exchange for $304 million in state tax incentives.
The semiconductor company will used the expansion as the bases to seek federal funding under the CHIPS and Science Act. The law aims to address recent supply chain risks identified in the U.S by boosting the domestic research and production.
Although Integra Technologies’ operations have spanned to Silicon Valley, the Wichita-headquartered company has maintained its Kansas roots.
“We talked to several other states about potentially locating the new expansion there, Robinson said. “But at the end of the day, Kansas has been our home for 40 years.”
Integra will partner with the Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas to help locate in-state employees. The Workforce Alliance is set to establish a Strategic Workforce Collaborative that will aim to enhance employable skills among job seekers.
“What we are really excited about is our ability to reach out into the community and find people who, for whatever reason, may have had barriers to employment in the past,” Robinson explained.
In an effort to integrate local research, Integra will also partner with Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) to set up a training facility for entry-level positions.
“We’re really excited to have WSU NIAR signed on to basically run that R&D effort within our facility,” Robinson said.
Robinson said that the bulk of Integra’s current work lies in aerospace and defense. Although the new factory will continue those efforts, the new facility will allow for higher volume production.
“This will get us to scale to be able to handle all aspects of semiconductor manufacturing from commercial high volume to low volume high mix and all the way down to R&D.”
Initially the plant will target eight volume production lines that will each produce approximately 10 million units a week. Robinson said that they plan to double those numbers to 20 million within the next decade.
The billions of units produced annually will set Integra to be a global leader in the semiconductor industry.
