The last group of employees will hang up their smocks at Signetics Tuesday, signaling the demise of one of Utah County's most prom-inent businesses.
A cleanup crew of about 200 will work until March dismantling equipment and shipping it to other Signetics plants. But the integrated circuit manufacturer's 26-year ride among the top employers in the county is over.Employees at the Orem plant began making integrated circuits and semiconductors used in the computer, automobile and electronics industries in 1966. The facility reached peak employment in 1988, when 2,000 people took home paychecks from Signetics.
Tight markets caused by worldwide competition in the semiconductor industry ate into employment ranks over the past five years, however. In January 1992, Signetics employed 900 people in Orem.
That's when Philips Electronics of Eindhoven, The Netherlands, parent company of Signetics, announced it would close the manufacturing plant at the end of the year. Signetics President James E. Dykes gave several reasons for the closure.
The plant's primary product was an outdated integrated circuit. Rather than retool the facility, Philips opted to streamline its operations.
The company will move military manufacturing work to Signetics plants in Albuquerque and Sunnyvale, Calif. Testing operations are relocating to Bangkok, Thailand.
The loss of Signetics will be calculated in dollar terms. Orem City will lose its largest property taxpayer; in 1991, Signetics added $575,005 to the city's coffers. Utah County loses a $22 million annual payroll.
And businesses throughout the county are bound to feel the effect as the closure ripples through the local economy.
Wasatch Bank, 1220 S. 800 East, directly west of Signetics, has noticed a drop in lobby traffic, "particularly on days that would have normally corresponded with pay days," said Vern Bailey, executive vice president and branch man-ag-er.
Next door, Circle K, 1240 S. 800 East, has felt the repercussions, too.
"We've taken a hit, but we're going to stay open," said Wendy Fowler, manager. "We sold a lot of gasoline to Signetics employees. We had a lunch crew that came over. We had a lot of people in for (drink) refills - we sold more refills than any Circle K in this area."
For Fowler, watching the plant wind down has been sad. "Gloomy," she said.
More importantly, the plant's closure is calculated in human terms. The closure swept through Signetics' employment ranks like a hurricane-force wind, scattering employees in different directions.
In the past 11 months, about 200 people were offered positions at other Signetics plants, accepted jobs elsewhere or left the company for other reasons, despite incentive offerings that enticed them to stay to the end.
Dannison Vo, 33, Salt Lake City, is on the crew that will work until March to dismantle and clean the facility. That's fortunate, because Vo, who spent six years as a test equipment engineer, has failed so far to land another job.
"This economy right now, it's kind of hard," Vo said. "It's sad. When I was first hired here there were 1,600 to 1,800 people.
"You had to park your car way over there and walk in," Vo said, gesturing to a distant parking lot. "Now there are just a few cars. It's a lot to think about."
Vo, who immigrated to Utah from Vietnam, has a good perspective on what it takes to rebuild a life.
"This is America. If you want it, you can do it. If I can do it, everybody else can do it."
Vo plans to return to school for a second degree - in computer science - if a job doesn't turn up.
"Many employees are planning to go back to school, especially the operators who came here right after high school," he said. "Thank God for the TAA help."
The company requested and received federal assistance from the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act to aid employees who choose to go back to school.
That aid will launch Chris Vel, Provo, into a new career. She worked 14 years at the spec center at Signetics. Now, Vel's enrolled at Utah Valley Community College, where she plans to get a degree in radiology. Vel began knocking off prerequisite courses last March, after closure.
Char Larsen, Springville, put in 13 years in the fabrication center at Signetics. Like Vel, she is going back to school for a degree in nursing.
"It ( the closure) was devastating, but it's easier to know we've got a life out here, that we can go to school."
Signetics also set up a career transition center to help employees find new employment; it will continue to operate through March. The center was a key for Randy Bryson, Lehi. Bryson was the manager of the characterization department at Signetics; he'd worked for the company for 16 years.
He'll punch his last time card today at Signetics and then report tomorrow to Eyring Corp., where he'll begin a new career as a radio frequency engineer/systems an-a-lyst.
"I'm one of the lucky ones," he said. "There are still quite a few who are good professionals that are still looking."