Gresham semiconductor plant gets multi-million-dollar investment

GRESHAM Ore. (KPTV) - It’s a multi-million-dollar investment that will help Oregon be a leader in the semiconductor industry.

Microchip Technology Inc. will be investing $800 million dollars in the Gresham campus. The money will go to creating 300 new jobs and tripling the production of semiconductors. Already, Microchip Technology produces two to three million semiconductors per day in Gresham. The company said Gresham is a key part of keeping America well-supplied with the technology that’s intertwined with almost every part of our lives. Shannon Chisom is a local business owner in Gresham that relies on semiconductor technology. Her audio equipment was used for Monday’s press conference at the Microchip Technology campus. But it’s the semiconductors working behind the scenes to make the press conference possible.

“We can’t function or put on events like this for the community without that technology,” Chisom said.

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Mayor Travis Stovall said this investment is what the city of Gresham needs. Since setting up shop on Southeast Stark Street and Southeast 202nd Avenue, he’s seen the positive economic impact Microchip Technology has made on the lives of those employed. But he said the whole community also benefits from having more people with family-wage jobs.

“When you think of the impact of the dollar, there’s a multiplier effect and so as people get those family wage jobs, then they spend a lot of that money within the community, which has a multiplier effect,” Stovall said. “Spend it on local restaurants, spend it on local retail establishments, all of those things add to our community.”

The topic of expanding semiconductor production in Oregon has been swirling around the state capital too. In her proposed budget, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has asked the state legislature to invest $200 million into the semiconductor industry. The goal with that money is to ramp up production. According to the Oregon Business Plans 2022 study on the industry within the beaver state, semiconductors make up nearly half of Oregon’s exports.

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Microchip Technology Inc. said this investment will be over a few years and the community will start seeing the impact over that time. But as a local, Chisom is proud Gresham plays a big part in making sure our technology base world keeps turning.

“Everything I do tries to bring the community together and lift people up,” Chisom said. “Adding more jobs, adding more possibilities is absolutely fantastic.”

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