Tech giant Apple Inc. is opening a new manufacturing facility in Mesa that will bring in 700 jobs, according to a statement from Gov. Jan Brewer and the Arizona Commerce Authority.
Apple Inc. purchased the former First Solar factory in Mesa with plans to partner with GT Advanced Technologies on manufacturing operations. The move is expected to bring 700 permanent jobs along with 1,300 construction jobs to fully outfit the facility.
Apple Inc. purchased the former First Solar factory in Mesa with plans to partner with GT Advanced Technologies on manufacturing operations. The move is expected to bring 700 permanent jobs along with 1,300 construction jobs to fully outfit the facility.
Officials close to the deal confirmed Apple will take over the First Solar Inc. building at the Eastmark master-planned community, which the Tempe-based solar manufacturer said last month it was selling for more than $100 million.
“Apple is indisputably one of the world’s most innovative companies and I’m thrilled to welcome them to Arizona,” Brewer said in the statement. “Apple will have an incredibly positive economic impact for Arizona and its decision to locate here speaks volumes about the friendly, pro-business climate we have been creating these past four years. Their investment in renewable energy will also be greening our power grid, and creating significant new solar and geothermal power sources for the state.”
Sources told me this week the sale of First Solar’s facility closed Oct. 31 for more than $100 million. They were unable to disclose the buyer’s name but said it was not Apple, but rather a data server whose client is Apple.
Records filed with the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office show the sale of the First Solar plant closed on Oct. 31 in an all cash $113.57 million-deal.
The buying entity on record is Platypus Development LLC, a Delaware corporation formed on Oct. 24 that is listed under its Phoenix law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP.
While this Platypus entity doesn’t show any obvious connection to Apple Inc., various news reports, such as from Tech Crunch, said Apple was purchasing the facility for its supplier, GT Advanced Technologies.
In an 8-K filing Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, GT said that on Oct. 31 — the same day the First Solar plant closed escrow — it had “entered into a lease agreement … with an affiliate of Apple in order to lease a facility in Mesa, Ariz. that (GT) will use for the purpose of manufacturing the sapphire goods …”
Earlier this month, First Solar sold 50 acres directly west to the plant for $3.48 million to an entity controlled by Bright International Corp., a manufacturer and product development services company to the professional and home hair, skin and personal care product industries based in Coolidge. Public records for that transaction are located here.
Leave a Reply