Intel to Build New Chip Factory in Arizona

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) said it will invest $5 billion in a new chip manufacturing facility in Chandler, Ariz. Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini made the announcement during a visit by President Barack Obama to an Intel facility in Oregon.

Fab 42, the chosen name for the factory, will be the most advanced, high-volume semiconductor manufacturing facility in the world. Construction is expected to begin mid-2011 and wrap up in 2013, Intel said in a press release Friday.

The plant will be built as a 300mm factory, which refers to the size of the wafers that contain the computer chips.

“The investment positions our manufacturing network for future growth,” said Brian Krzanich, senior vice president and general manager of the manufacturing and supply chain. “This fab will begin operations on a process that will allow us to create transistors with a minimum feature size of 14 nanometers. For Intel, manufacturing serves as the underpinning for our business and allows us to provide customers and consumers with leading-edge products in high volume. The unmatched scope and scale of our investments in manufacturing help Intel maintain industry leadership and drives innovation.”

Krzanich cited several benefits of the products that the state-of-the-art factory will produce, including giving consumers “unprecedented levels of performance and power efficiency across a range of computing devices from high-end servers to ultra-sleek portable devices.”