JERUSALEM: Intel Israel’s exports fell slightly to $4.1 billion in 2015, 11% of Israel’s high-tech exports (industry and services). Exports in 2014 had been $4.25 billion, and the company explained the fall last year as due to a deliberate slowdown in production as part of the upgrade to the new fab. When the upgrade of its Kiryat Gat fab, in which an unprecedented $6 billion was invested, is completed, another leap in Intel Israel’s export is projected.
“70% of the exports are based on our fabs,” explained Intel Israel fabs manager Daniel Benatar. “The Kiryat Gat fab, which is currently undergoing a technological upgrade, is one of Intel’s outstanding fabs worldwide. Because of its production, Intel Israel makes a healthy contribution to Israeli exports.”
“Intel Israel’s fabs make a substantial contribution to the Israeli economy, and the exports by Intel are critical for the Israeli economy,” Intel Israel CEO Maxine Fassberg said. “Since its founding 42 years ago, the company has exported $44 billion. That is an enormous sum, which affects Israel’s economy growth and the people living here every year.”
Fassberg added that in order to develop Israel’s outlying areas and foster the economic and employment anchors there, “A major plant like Intel in Kiryat Gat is extremely significant. We employ 3,000 workers, half of whom live in the south. We work with 1,000 suppliers, most of them local.
An entire industrial zone has developed around the fab, including large companies that migrated south in the wake of Intel. This anchor should be preserved, while at the same time developing regulation to encourage small and medium-sized businesses to grow, especially in the outlying areas.”
