Intel Ireland faces competition from other Intel sites, including one in New Mexico, for investment to complete a planned $2.2 billion (€2.52 billion) facility in Kildare, a senior Intel executive said.
Mr Mark Bohr, Intel's director of process architecture and integration, said the firm had still not decided which global facility to upgrade first. Leixlip, New Mexico and others were all contenders for this upgrade, he added.
A decision by Intel to upgrade another plant with its newest manufacturing technology would probably result in a lengthy delay to the completion of Intel Ireland's Fab 24 plant, which had been earmarked for this new technology.
It would be a major blow to the technology industry here. The Government is keen to encourage large firms to set up and stay in the Republic by placing it at the cutting edge of technology. Failure by Leixlip to win the Fabrication plant upgrade would, it fears, send out all the wrong messages. It would also hurt the construction industry, which would gain from a decision by Intel to build here.
Last year, Intel halted construction of the proposed $2.2 billion plant at its Leixlip site due to the downturn in the high-tech sector and a slump in demand for its chips. The firm has delayed a restart to construction twice already and recently said it would negotiate with builders to try to reduce the cost of construction for Fab 24.
Mr Bill Riley, an Intel Ireland executive, confirmed yesterday that all five of Intel's existing global fabrication facilities were potential competitors for the investment.
He said Intel's decision to move ahead with the new technology was subject to future demand and when market conditions would justify this. "It's difficult to predict what will happen in the next six months, never mind 2004," he said.
Mr Bohr's comments, made in a recent interview with Electronics Weekly, suggest the firm has still not decided where to install its most up-to-date manufacturing technology. This 90 nanometre technology would enable Intel to manufacture more microprocessors on single wafers, boosting the efficiency of the firm's manufacturing process.
Mr Bohr said the 90 nanometre process would be used first in volume at Intel's Oregon facility in the US before being transferred to a second Intel fabrication plant.
About 100 Irish engineers are currently working in Oregon on this new process but there is a similar number of engineers from Intel's New Mexico Fab working on the project.
The New Mexico Intel Fab recently completed a $2 billion investment to improve its manufacturing technology. At a visit there this month, Intel chief executive Mr Craig Barrett said Intel had an excellent experience there.
