PORTLAND — Fairchild Semiconductor has relocated its corporate headquarters from South Portland to Silicon Valley in an effort to sharpen its image as a leading international producer of silicon chips.

The transition will not impact the company’s operations in Maine, nor lead to staff layoffs or transfers, said Kevin London, Fairchild’s senior vice president of human resources.

“Everything is the same. We will run things as we have been,” said London, adding that the company has long maintained an office in San Jose. “(The relocation) has no effect on the operational parts of our business.”

London said the relocation to Silicon Valley, home to thousands of high-tech firms, will reflect Fairchild’s growth and status as a leading technology company.

“We want to develop our branding to be seen within the broader technological community as being in the Valley, and as part of the huge technological infrastructure out there,” he said.

London said Fairchild, which is incorporated in Delaware, has been legally headquartered in South Portland since 1997, when it was spun off from National Semiconductor.

Advertisement

At that time, London said, South Portland was a good choice. The company was relatively small, with sales of roughly $500 million, and its chips were essentially commodities. Fairchild competed with seven or eight other suppliers.

But London said the company and the market have changed.

Fairchild now has sales of $1.6 billion and operations in 27 countries. These days the company works closely with clients to design highly specialized chips with proprietary designs. On some projects, he said, Fairchild competes with only one other company; sometimes there is no competition.

The move to San Jose, he said, “reflects the changes in our company.”

Craig Berger, an analyst with the Arlington, Va.-based investment bank FBR Capital Markets., said in an email that the relocation makes sense.

“All the engineers are in (the) Silicon Valley. Thompson is from (the) Silicon Valley. All the other chip firms are there. Why does Fairchild need to stay in Maine? … To me, it just makes sense to be in the hub of activity.”

Advertisement

London said Fairchild will maintain three large corporate offices, as it has for years. He said each handles a range of corporate functions. Sales, for instance, is led out of the Singapore office, top legal staffers are based in Portland and CEO Mark Thompson works from San Jose.

London said the relocation has no association with a manufacturing restructuring plan announced last September that included laying off 120 workers.

Fairchild was founded in 1955 in the Santa Clara Valley, now known as Silicon Valley. Schlumberger Limited purchased Fairchild in 1979, and sold the company to National Semiconductor in 1987.

Fairchild became an independent company based in South Portland when it was divested by National in 1997.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.