While northern Utah Valley scored big in the landing of Micron Technology earlier, it will not do so again this year with another major semiconductor manufacturer.
LSI Logic announced Thursday it will build an $800 million computer chip plant in Gresham, Ore., a city near Portland. Pleasant Grove was in the running for the facility that will initially employ 467 people. Officials from the company, based in Milpitas, Calif., visited the city several times."They liked the area. They like the people. They liked everything they saw," said Pleasant Grove Mayor Lloyd Ash.
LSI spokesman Gary Bonham said Pleasant Grove was on the company's short list.
Ash wasn't too disappointed about LSI's decision because the city has feelers out to many other companies. But "they missed an opportunity to come to a great valley."
Some north Utah County residents would argue missing out on another semiconductor plant isn't a big loss. Residents are already feeling the impacts of Micron's presence as construction began last month. Many fear the north end of the county is growing too rapidly.
Ash, who wasn't notified directly of LSI's decision, said he thought the company was leaning toward Oregon all along. He said he believed LSI was simply looking at what other cities might be willing to offer. Austin, Texas, was also in contention.
An Oregon tax abatement plan was the key to LSI's decision. Without it, Bonham said, the company would have gone elsewhere.
The costs of developing some of the Pleasant Grove sites, mostly in the southwest part of town, and its Intermountain location also worked against the city.
Cy Hannon, LSI executive vice president, said Gresham was chosen for its overall cost of doing business, solid supplier infrastructure, plentiful natural resources and a promising pool of skilled labor.
Oregon is in the same time zone as LSI's Silicon Valley headquarters and also provides easy access to the company's other major manufacturing site in Tsukuba, Japan. LSI made $108.7 million last year.
While Pleasant Grove didn't reel in LSI, Ash said it's one of many company the city has talked with. "We will continue to talk to these kinds of people," he said.
The city also will target retail businesses such as tax-revenue-producing grocery and hardware stores rather than manufacturing plants. Pleasant Grove's location away from the state's main thoroughfare, I-15, makes attracting any commercial venture difficult. Still, companies nationwide are discovering the city.
"We're moving up on their lists," Ash said, predicting Pleasant Grove will see more commercial development in the next 10 years than in its total past history.