As an electronics manufacturer packs up its old facility in south San Jose, workers are getting comfortable in the new, northeast Morgan Hill building.
In a cavernous building, large machines drill aluminum slabs into workable solar panel parts as operators observe and work the machinery.
In the center of a large corridor, half a dozen workers assemble their workspace.
Around a corner, three workers crouch before a metal slab backlit with golden rods of electric lighting, detailing tiny groupings of holes as thousands of beams of light shine through them.
But, the nearly 300 total workers who will fill the facility when it reaches its maximum capacity in June - once the transition is done - are for the most part already employed by Flextronics, an international manufacturing firm. Morgan Hill, then, will get 300 new commuting workers, not open positions.
David Lomker, Senior Manufacturing Manager for Flextronics, said the majority of the jobs provided by the new facility at 925 Lightpost Way will be employees transferred from the former facility in San Jose. Skilled workers commute for the manufacturing and assembly jobs from their homes in Manteca, Modesto and Salinas. A handful of the employees live in South County and Hollister, Lomker said.
"It's a beautiful building, and the location seems to be nice," Lomker said of the former Thomas Kinkade manufacturing facility. "It will be a longer commute for some and shorter for others."
Flextronics Senior Programmer Rob Fulcher said what started as an expansion effort may end as a relocation only, due to the economy.
"There are a lot of numbers being crunched in our offices to find out what makes the most sense," Fulcher said.
Flextronics will provide little relief to the 9.2 percent Morgan Hill unemployment rate, which is expected to jump the first few months of 2009 as Mervyns and Ross close and seasonal workers are laid off. Circuit City closed this week, laying off 90 workers.
At the 155,520-square-foot building, workers will undertake the Singapore-based firm's first solar panel project, said supervisor Armando Gallardo. Aluminum components will be drilled, pressed and assembled.
Most of the work at the facility so far has been "moving the bodies and the equipment," Lomker said.
Although few jobs will be filled by Morgan Hill residents, the new facility will have a positive effect on Morgan Hill's economy, according to Business Assistance and Housing Services senior project manager Tammy Brownlow.
The move will boost foot traffic at nearby food and retail outlets in Cochrane Plaza and Madrone Village Shopping Center, she said.
This summer, Flextronics signed a seven-year sublease with Thomas Kinkade Company, which previously occupied the building. Thomas Kinkade's manufacturing operations are in Gilroy now, while the company retains its offices next to the Flextronics building in the Madrone Business Plaza.
Flextronics technician Olga Gloria, who transferred from the San Jose facility and lives in Sunnyvale, said she liked the new building.
"There's a lot of space, it's nice. I like it," she said. "It's not so crowded."
San Jose resident Jorge Echeverria, also a transfer, works as an assembler. He said he was excited to work on the new prototype.
With its 300 jobs, Flextronics will become one of the top 10 employers in Morgan Hill.
Meanwhile, wholesale food processor Del Monaco will employee 75 people at its new Madrone Parkway facility by mid-2010, which should open by June, Brownlow said. Del Monaco specializes in recipe production and recipe design and has clients including Whole Foods Markets and Sonoma Chicken Coop.
The new Wal-Mart in the old Target building on Cochrane Road in north Morgan Hill will start renovations in early 2009. Construction bids for tenant improvements are due the first week of January, Brownlow said.
Natalie Everett Natalie Everett is the education and city reporter for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106, ext. 201, or neverett@morganhilltimes.com.
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