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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Intel Will Pump $177M To Expand Mexico Design Center

04/27/2010
Intel plans to invest $177 over the next three years to expand its Guadalajara Design Center in Mexico, with increased tech development, staffing and education initiatives on the project list.

The investment will also add 150 new engineering jobs to the 400 engineer roster at the GDC, which focuses on the design, testing and validation of integrated circuits and other hardware, and education software technologies used in Intel products sold globally. The expansion will include the construction of a new building for technical labs, office space, a technology museum for children and an IT lab to support small- and medium-sized businesses.

The new campus will adhere to world-class design and construction standards and to minimize its impact on the environment. For example, it will seek Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, which provides independent, third-party verification that a building meets the highest green building and performance measures.

"As a global computing leader, we believe that investing in the future of discovery is an essential business decision," said Intel CEO Paul Otellini said. "Our team in Mexico will continue to help us do this. This new investment today extends our long-term commitment to Mexico. The highly technical work being done at our research center here has been extraordinary, and today we are taking it to a new level."

The GDC is Intel's largest site in Mexico and where all its technology development activities in Mexico are based. Since it was established 10 years ago, it has grown from 33 employees to over 400 value-added jobs. In addition to technology development activities, the GDC also has several initiatives in place at local universities aimed at fostering the region's technical talent pool. Nearly 100 undergraduate students have participated in these programs in the past 18 months.

With this investment, Intel also seeks to increase its contribution to the development of the national and local technological ecosystem. For example, more than 20 research and talent development projects have been completed or are underway with the university system. In addition, a multi-core technology lab has been set at the Information Technology Institute of Jalisco to help local small- and medium-sized businesses learn multi-core technologies that will be key for their competitiveness. Also, more than 50 interns spend 6 to 12 months in the GDC's labs learning about state-of-the-art technologies and engineering processes.

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