FEI Announces Plans for Facility Expansion in the Czech Republic

FEI Company FEIC announced plans to consolidate and expand its manufacturing capacity by entering into a build-to-suit arrangement to construct a new facility in Brno, Czech Republic. The new facility will include approximately 270,000 square feet with options for expansion and will be used for manufacturing, research and development and administration. It will be approximately twice the size of the existing operation in Brno. The facility will be leased with a minimum commitment of 10 years with multiple options to extend or terminate. It will replace three different currently-leased buildings. The new operation will be in the CTPark-Brno II, located about 12 kilometers from the current site. The new facility will enable FEI to consolidate its Czech operations under one roof which will provide a better flow of production, the ability to ramp volumes, reduced costs and is expandable to support future growth. FEI expects to begin operations in the new building in early 2014 with full operations by the end of that year. The Company plans to spend approximately $35 million, mainly in 2013, to fit-out the building with clean rooms, equipment and office space. FEI has been operating a site in the Czech Republic since 1998. Production has grown from under 10% of product revenue to nearly 60% projected for 2012. FEI has approximately 500 employees in the Czech Republic.