Lucent Expands Photonic Component Facilities

ALLENTOWN, Pa., Oct. 31 -- Citing increased demand in the optical components industry, Lucent Technologies has invested $65 million in expansions for office, laboratory and manufacturing facilities for high-speed optical communications networking systems. The expansions will take place in Breinigsville and Reading, Pa., Dallas and Matamoros, Mexico, and will create 750 new jobs over the next three years the company said.
The company has already begun construction of a $28 million, 120,000-sq ft, three-story office and laboratory facility at the Breinigsville, Pa., campus's optoelectronics center. A 90,000 sq ft office building will be constructed next to the lab facility on the same campus in Breinigsville. In Reading, Lucent will convert 30,000 sq ft of office and laboratory space to manufacturing space for expanded laser manufacturing operations. Lucent has completed a 16,000 sq ft addition at its fabrication facility in Dallas. Lucent will continue to build dense wavelength division multiplexing thin-film filters in its 11,000 sq ft facility recently acquired from Hermann Technology, which will be also be used to support new equipment and house coating chambers.