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Exclusives > Online Exclusive November 2004
WEB
EXCLUSIVE
Semiconductor Equipment
Manufacturer Relocates Major Operations To Vancouver
San Jose, CA-based
Kokusai Semiconductor Equipment Corporation is moving
all of its major operations to Vancouver, joining a
cluster of more than 340 high-technology companies located
in southwest Washington. Kokusai, will move its sales,
marketing, service, training and parts distribution
from its long-time location across the Columbia River
in Portland, OR where it employs 30 workers.
"We are seeing more and more
companies relocate or expand in southwest Washington
because of the tremendous savings the state's tax structure
can provide to a corporation," says Bart Phillips, president
of the Columbia River Economic Development Corporation
(CREDC)."We were pleased to be able to support Kokusai
by understanding the business case for a Vancouver location.
Kokusai bolsters the semiconductor cluster in Clark
County and Washington State."
Washington is one of only seven
states that does not levy a personal income tax. Additionally,
the state does not have:
- Corporate taxes;
- Inventory taxes;
- Unitary taxes; or
- Taxes on interest, dividends
or capital gains.
"The broadening of our customer
base requires that we double the size of our current
facility and Vancouver has some compelling business
reasons why we should expand there," says Rob Bernardi,
president and COO of Kokusai Semiconductor Equipment
Corporation.
In 2003, 15 new businesses
moved or expanded to southwest Washington resulting
in more than 750 new jobs with an average annual payroll
of $38,800 per employee. This growth has continued in
the first quarter of 2004 during which 258 new jobs
were created through expansions and/or relocations representing
$20 million in capital investments.
"We are thrilled to have Kokusai
be a part of our community," says Vancouver Mayor Royce
Pollard. "It is a quality business and an extremely
positive addition to our increasingly diverse business
climate. The company will complement our existing businesses
and will be a great community partner."
Over the past decade, southwest
Washington has developed strong industry clusters around:
semiconductor and microelectronics manufacturing; telecommunications;
software development; and metals fabrication. It is
now home to 340 high-technology companies that employ
more than 8,800 workers. Included among these are: Hewlett-Packard,
Linear Technology, Sharp Microelectronics of the Americas,
Sharp Laboratories, nLight Photonics, SEH America, Shell
Solar, and WaferTech.
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