700 new technology jobs announced for Utah

LEHI — The technology sector will add approximately 700 new jobs to Utah's economy over the next four years following the announcement of two major expansion projects.

At a meeting Monday in Lehi, the board of the Governor's Office of Economic Development approved $49.5 million in post-performance tax incentives for IM Flash Technologies and EMC Corp. that are expected to generate hundreds of new positions and tax revenue, Gov. Gary Herbert said.

"The technology industry that (GOED) has targeted as a key economic indicator has shown incredible staying power by bringing long-term growth to the state, and it is showing continued signs of strength," Herbert said.

Under the first incentive plan, Lehi-based IM Flash plans to add 200 new jobs starting in 2012, while maintaining its current staff levels of more than 1,400 employees as it expands its semiconductor fabrication facility. The company expects to pay about $1.4 billion in new state wages over the next decade as well as investing $1.5 billion in capital as it implements its growth strategy.

"Our plans are to continue our investments as we move forward and also expand — not only in Utah, but around the globe," said Keyvan Esfarjani, co-executive officer of IM Flash. Most of the new jobs will be engineering and technical support positions, he added.

IM Flash — a joint venture between Intel Corp. and Micron Technology — is a world leader in flash memory technology.

The second incentive would offer EMC Corp. up to $3.5 million as it adds 500 new positions in Utah by the end of 2015. The new jobs would pay 125 percent of the average county wage.

Headquartered in Hopkinton, Mass., EMC Corp. is a provider of storage hardware solutions that promote data recovery and improve cloud computing with 48,500 employees worldwide.

"We're posting the jobs this week and will begin to start hiring immediately," said Vance Checketts, vice president of support services for EMC Corp.

Checketts said the company would hire about 70 to 100 people by year's end, with more hires over the next few years. He said while EMC searches for a larger site to accommodate its expansion, the company would use its Mozy facility in Pleasant Grove.

EMC acquired Mozy, a provider of online backup services, in October 2007.

The latest announcements are a strong indicator that the state's long-range growth plan is heading in the right direction, according to Jeff Edwards, president and chief executive officer of Economic Development Corp. of Utah.

"The information technology sector here will be greatly enhanced by EMC's long-term presence, which will bring further economic success in Utah," Edwards said.

email: jlee@desnews.com