Easley, Michael. Press Release, 2002-02-08, Easley Announces 1,500 New Jobs, $20 Million Investment For Franklin County: Flextronics To Establish Key East Coast Design And Manufacturing Location In Youngsville Focusing On Optical Technology

Michael F. Easley Governor State of North Carolina Office of the Governor For Release: IMMEDIATE Contact: Reid Hartzoge/Melinda Pierson Date: February 8, 2002_ Phone: (919) 733-5612/(919) 733-3438 EASLEY ANNOUNCES 1,500 NEW JOBS, $20 MILLION INVESTMENT FOR FRANKLIN COUNTY Flextronics to Establish Key East Coast Design and Manufacturing Location in Youngsville Focusing on Optical Technology ; RALEIGH -Gov. Mike Easley today announced that Flextronics will locate their key East Coast design and manufacturing facility focused on optical technology in Youngsville. The new facility will be one of two technology campuses in the U.S., creating 1 ,500 new jobs over three years and investing $20 million in Franklin County. “This is great news for North Carolina,” said Easley. “Companies like Flextronics are choosing to locate and expand in North Carolina because they know about our strong commitment to education and economic development. This is another example of our investments in a skilled and educated workforce paying off. These jobs require a skilled workforce and we are committed to using our university and community college systems to supply the workers.” The Youngsville campus will serve as Flextronics’ East Coast technology center for the design and manufacture of high technology electronic products and be one of two major U.S. locations. The campus will design, engineer, test and manufacture optical communications products. The new Youngsville campus will employ approximately 1,900, including 300 employees of the existing Youngsville facility as well as many employees from the Smithfield Flextronics facility, set to close in late March. The campus will be located on 75 acres in Youngsville Commerce Park and will grow as large as 825,000 square-feet over the next five years. Flextronics is the leading electronics manufacturing services provider in the world with 100 facilities on four continents and over 70,000 employees worldwide. The facilities in Youngsville and Dallas will be Flextronics’ two key technology campuses in the U.S. “Flextronics is the largest electronics manufacturing services company in the world. The fact that they selected North Carolina as the location for their East Coast technology campus is testament to our state’s competitive advantage when it comes to attracting the cutting-edge jobs of the new economy,” said State Commerce Secretary Jim Fain. “I welcome this new chapter in our relationship with Flextronics and look forward to working with them as they grow even stronger in our state.” -more- Govemor's Press Office State Capitol, Raleigh, NC 27603-8001 (919) 733-5612 - Toll Free 1-800-662-7005 FAX (9 19) 733-5 166