The Economy

LED Lighting Manufacturer Announces Expansion

Sept. 28, 2010

Company expects to hire 250 employees to staff new production line.

Cree Inc., a Durham, N.C.-based manufacturer of LED lighting products, announced that it will install a new 150-mm LED wafer production line at its Research Triangle Park facility.

The new production line will enable Cree to produce 150-mm LED wafers that are more than double the size of current ones, "increasing the number of LEDs from a single wafer, helping to make LED lighting more cost-effective," according to the company.

Cree plans to install the production line over the next several quarters and aims to have the first products qualified on the line by June 2011.

"150-mm LED wafers are an important step in enabling the next phase of LED lighting," Cree CEO and Chairman Chuck Swoboda said.

To keep pace with the growing market for energy-efficient LED lighting, Cree has added more than 600 jobs since early 2009, surpassing the company's 2012 hiring goals set last fall, according to the company.

Cree anticipates hiring nearly 250 more employees by 2013 to staff the new wafer production line expansion.

About the Author

Josh Cable | Former Senior Editor

Former Senior Editor Josh Cable covered innovation issues -- including trends and best practices in R&D, process improvement and product development. He also reported on the best practices of the most successful companies and executives in the world of transportation manufacturing, which encompasses the aerospace, automotive, rail and shipbuilding sectors.

Josh also led the IndustryWeek Manufacturing Hall of Fame, IW’s annual tribute to the most influential executives and thought leaders in U.S. manufacturing history.

Before joining IndustryWeek, Josh was the editor-in-chief of Penton Media’s Government Product News and Government Procurement. He also was an award-winning beat reporter for several small newspapers in Northeast Ohio.

Josh received his BFA in creative writing from Bowling Green University, and continued his professional development through course-work at Ohio University and Cuyahoga Community College.

A lifelong resident of the Buckeye State, Josh currently lives in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland. When the weather cooperates, you’ll find him riding his bike to work, exercising his green thumb in the backyard or playing ultimate Frisbee.