FEI Announces Plans for Facility Expansion in the Czech Republic
HILLSBORO, Ore., — FEI Company (Nasdaq: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.
Commenting on the announcement, Jiri Ocadlik, Vice President Manufacturing – Brno, stated, “We are very excited about the new facility as it is our first ever build-to-suit operation within FEI. With new and efficient operations, all employees located together and the ability to expand, the new facility should enable us to increase capacity and reduce operating costs.”
FEI is also investing approximately $5 million to expand its operation in Eindhoven, The Netherlands to accommodate increased demand for high-base Titan-class transmission electron microscopes.
About Brno, Czech Republic
Brno is the second largest city in the Czech Republic with a metro area population of approximately 800,000. It is located about 180 kilometers east ofPrague and is the historical capital of Moravia with a history dating back nearly 1,000 years. It is best known as a university town with 13 colleges and universities and approximately 90,000 students. It is the technology hub of the Czech Republic with many technology companies operating in the area. Brno is centrally located in Europe and offers a wealth of trained and talented workers, a low cost environment, favorable tax structures and subsidies, and full access to the EU.
About FEI
FEI Company (Nasdaq:FEIC) is a leading supplier of scientific instruments for nanoscale applications across many industries: materials science, life sciences, semiconductors, data storage, natural resources and more. With more than 60 years of technological innovation and leadership, FEI has set the performance standard in transmission electron microscopes (TEM), scanning electron microscopes (SEM) and DualBeams™, which combine a SEM with a focused ion beam (FIB). Headquartered in Hillsboro, Ore., USA, FEI has over 2,200 employees and sales and service operations in more than 50 countries around the world. More information can be found at: www.fei.com.

