June 26, 2006 – Intel has officially inaugurated its Fab 24-2 plant in Leixlip, outside Dublin, Ireland, now upgraded for production of microchips using 65nm process technology on 300mm wafers. The site, originally opened in 1989, is the company’s fourth 300mm facility and third to achieve 65nm production, behind D1D Portland, OR, and Fab 12 in Chandler, AZ.

Upgrades to the expanded 60,000 sq. ft facility, upon which Intel reportedly spent nearly $2 billion, were completed despite losing hundreds of millions in state aid. In March 2005, Ireland abandoned its offer to help fund the site, after learning that the European Union likely would delay and eventually turn down such a plan.