Linear Hires Workers, Mulls New U.S. Fab

Calif. -- Amid strong demand for its products, Linear Technology Corp. is hiring fab workers and is mulling plans to build a new fab in the United States. The analog specialist is mulling plans to build a second fab in Camas, Wash.--a move that could bring 300 jobs to the area, according to The Columbian. Linear Chief Executive Lothar Maier visited Camas on Monday of this week, the report said. Linear (Milpitas, Calif.) already has one 6-inch fab in Camas and another 6-inch plant in Milpitas. ''The company's basic process technologies include high-speed bipolar, high gain low noise bipolar, radio frequency bipolar, silicon gate complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) and BiCMOS. The company also has two proprietary complementary bipolar processes,'' according to Linear. The company has room to expand its existing fabs despite booming demand. A spokesman for Linear confirmed the reports that the company is mulling plans to build another 6-inch fab in Camas. ''A future fab is on the drawing board,'' the spokesman said, adding there is no timetable to build a new fab. Meanwhile, to meet demand, Linear has been increasing its headcount at both of its existing fabs by 25 percent, the spokesman said. The company has also raised its capital spending from $30 million to $70 million for the current year. Linear recently posted record quarterly revenues of $311.3 million for the third quarter of fiscal year 2010, up 21 percent compared to the previous quarter's revenue of $256.4 million and up 55 percent over $200.9 million reported in the third quarter of fiscal year 2009. Net income of $100.6 million increased 33 percent over the second quarter of fiscal year 2010 and increased 104 percent over the third quarter of fiscal year 2009. Other analog houses are also expanding. Last year, Texas Instruments Inc. set plans to open a 300-mm analog semiconductor fab in Richardson, Texas. At the same time, the company also outlined its roadmap for mainstream analog processes and tipped a new 130-nm technology based on copper interconnects. Others are shutting fabs. ADI, Maxim, Fairchild, On Semi and others have shuttered fabs in recent times.