Intel Expands Ireland Chip Plant

The $5.7 billion investment will increase production of Xeon server processors.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Intel (INTC, Financials), the semiconductor company known for computer processors, server chips and chip manufacturing services, plans to invest $5.7 billion in its facility in Leixlip, Ireland. The expansion will give Intel more capacity to produce Xeon 6 server processors and future generations of the chip.

Those products are used in cloud computing, networking, artificial intelligence and other enterprise workloads. Intel will upgrade existing fabrication facilities and install new manufacturing equipment. It will also expand the automated track system that moves materials between different parts of the campus.

The company said work on the project began earlier this year. For Intel, the investment is about getting more from an existing plant rather than starting from scratch. It also gives the company more capacity for its own products and for customers of Intel Foundry.

The project fits with the European Union's push to produce more semiconductors within the region and reduce reliance on overseas supply.