KLA Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) shares descended Thursday. The Milpitas, Calif.-based company, a global leader in semiconductor process control and process-enabling technology, today announced the opening of its new $138 million research and development (R&D) and manufacturing center in Newport, Wales, continuing the company's history of regional investment. SPTS, KLA's Wales-based product division, has been leading semiconductor equipment innovation in Wales since 1984, winning multiple Queen's Awards for excellence in R&D and export, and attracting strong technical talent to the region.
KLA added the SPTS etch and deposition product lines to its portfolio in 2019, bringing complementary technologies, solutions and services together, and increasing the company's capacity to deliver for customers across the semiconductor industry.
Reflecting the portfolio strength and growing customer demand, the new 237,000-square-foot Newport facility provides additional production and customer collaboration spaces, including 25,000 square feet of R&D clean rooms, 35,000 square feet of state-of-the-art manufacturing space and tool demo areas, all designed to support development of semiconductor process technologies across advanced packaging, power devices, microelectromechanical systems, radio frequency and photonics sector technology.
With capacity for 750 employees, KLA's new facility is expected to support the continued growth of the electronics ecosystem, serving as a center of engineering and manufacturing excellence, as well as an anchor for the larger community.
KLAC shares moved earthward $3.49 to $775.45.
