Ore. growing into tech rival. State surpasses Ariz.; Intel’s R&D focus is key to expansion

The rain easily turns expanses of lawn lush and green, and misty clouds hide hills full of pine trees. Like the verdant landscape for which Oregon is famous, the computer-chipmaking industry has taken root and is thriving here, too.

The "Silicon Forest," with barely two-thirds the population of the "Silicon Desert," surpassed Arizona in 2003 as the nation’s third-largest state for semiconductor manufacturing jobs. The world’s biggest chip manufacturer, California-based Intel Corp., has grown from a few hundred employees at its Oregon outpost in the mid-1970s to become Oregon’s largest private employer.

It may come as a surprise to those who think of Oregon mostly as a source of timber and cranberries. But starting in the 1990s, the state has gotten serious about cultivating a high-tech sector that rivals Arizona’s.

Jane Larson
The Arizona Republic

Full Story: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0108oregon08.html