Multi-Fineline chairman and chief executive Phil Harding says the new plant will be built adjacent to the company's MFC2 manufacturing facility, which began operation in June 2004 with approximately 285,000 sf of space and has since been expanded to about 300,000 sf. MFC1 began operation in 1994 and totals 225,000 sf.

The company manufactures between seven to nine million flex and flex assemblies per month. The assemblies function as part of the hinges, displays, and keypads for cell phones and personal digital assistants, mainly, as well as for medical devices, electronic data storage equipment, power supplies, and bar code scanners.

Multi-Fineline estimates the initial construction and build-out of the new facility will cost about $7.5 million, which the company expects to fund from its available cash and credit facilities. The company expects the equipment to cost another $21 million.