FREMONT, CA—Seagate Technology on Friday unveiled a $180 million cutting-edge research and development complex at the former Solyndra solar factory in Fremont, a site the company will use to invent next-generation disk drives.
Last week, Seagate installed a huge sign with its name and logo on the side of the 411,000-square-foot complex, according to a report in the Oakland Tribune.
"It's a big deal to be keeping high-tech research and development jobs in Silicon Valley," said Mark Re, a Seagate senior vice president and R&D executive, in talking with The Tribune. "This is going to be a state-of-the-art facility."
Earlier this year, the company paid $90 million for the onetime solar manufacturing center, which became available after the sudden collapse and bankruptcy of Solyndra, a onetime high-flyer in the solar industry. In addition to the purchase price, Seagate intends to spend another $90 million to $100 million over the next couple of years to install R&D equipment, said Brian Ziel, a spokesman for Seagate.
The tech company looked at 39 properties in Fremont, Union City, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and South San Jose in a hunt for new space to house its Silicon Valley research operations, Deason said.
The Solyndra campus turned out to be the ideal location. "This is as close as we could get if we were building a custom facility tailored to our needs," he said.
Solyndra devised a manufacturing complex that is so energy-efficient that it effectively has a redundant electrical system, according to Deason. The Solyndra solar panels that cover the vast rooftop of the complex will provide about 25 percent of the power needed in the building, a beneficial legacy of the failed green-energy company.
Click Oakland Tribune to read the full story.
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David Phillips
David Phillips is a Chicago-based freelance writer and consultant with more than 20 years experience in business and community news. He also has extensive reporting experience in the food manufacturing industry for national trade publications.
