Japanese electronics conglomerate Hitachi plans to build a large semiconductor research facility in Hillsboro, expanding its existing presence there to work with manufacturing clients in the U.S. to develop new technologies.

Hitachi didn’t say what it will spend on the facility or how many it will hire, but the two-story, 219,000-square-foot facility could conceivably employ hundreds when it opens in August 2022. Hitachi has had a small operation in Hillsboro since 2014; it’s not clear how many people it employs now.

Though the facility wouldn’t manufacture chips itself, Hitachi appears to be betting on growth in U.S. semiconductor production in the coming years. Most chipmaking has shifted to Asia over the past two decades, but national competition with China and global semiconductor supply shortages have both Democrats and Republicans calling for more production in the U.S.

A bill passed by the U.S. Senate this week would allocate $50 billion in incentives to support domestic semiconductor manufacturing. Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. have committed to spend billions of dollars to build new factories in Arizona.

It’s not clear that anyone is planning to build new factories in Oregon during the current building boom, but the state could benefit anyway from a revival in domestic chip production because of its concentration of operations like Hitachi’s, which play a support role in the industry.

Hitachi said its existing Hillsboro facility has been collaborating with the company’s U.S. customers on chip manufacturing technology. The company said the new facility will “consolidate and expand its technology development capabilities” in expectation of further semiconductor technology development in the U.S.

“We are fortunate to have a mature and expanding ecosystem of the semiconductor supply chain within our community and region made up of great partners, including Hitachi High-Tech,” Hillsboro economic development director Dan Dias said in a statement Thursday.

Electronics manufacturing is among Oregon’s largest industries. The sector exported nearly $11 billion in products last year, nearly half the state’s total exports.

Chipmaker Intel is Oregon’s largest corporate employer, with 21,000 working in its factories and offices in Washington County.

Hitachi is an Intel supplier, and its new facility is just a little northwest of Intel’s Ronler Acres campus, the chipmaker’s main research site. The Japanese company will build in the Hillsboro Technology Park, a 700-acre property south of Highway 26 and west of Northwest Brookwood Parkway that the city has earmarked for industrial development.

Hillsboro said its urban renewal agency bought Hitachi’s new site, then sold it to developer Trammell Crow to build the facility. The city and state also spent $8 million for infrastructure and rights of way near the site, and Hillsboro’s water agency is building a sewer pump station that will serve the property.

Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency, said Hitachi won’t receive any state incentives.

Hitachi’s new facility is in a Hillsboro enterprise zone, though, which could exempt it from local property taxes. The value of the company’s savings will depend on how much it spends on the building and equipment inside.

By: DocMemory
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