On May 18 a new addition to the Vicor Corporations factory in Andover was unveiled.
The addition is a 90,000 square foot, state of the art manufacturing plant according to a press release from Vicor.
According to a press release said the factory is now “The world’s first CHIP (Converter housed in Package) fabrication facility, or “ChiP fab,” sets the standard for scalable high volume, cost-effective and reliable power module manufacturing in the United States.”
Additionally Vicor has implemented a surface treatment process that recycles up to 80,000 gallons of water each day.
The plant will results in a 45% increase in manufacturing capacity, said the press release.
“Our new ChiP fab is one-of-a-kind and custom-built for today’s high-density power demands,” said
“Our proprietary manufacturing process allows us to produce our power modules faster, with superior quality, right here in Andover as we have done for 40 years. The increase in manufacturing capacity allows us to continue meeting customer needs in high volume markets.” said Mike McNamara, Vicor’s vice president of manufacturing.
Due to a Tax Increment Financing(TIF) agreement with the Town, Vicor was given a $1.6 million tax break on new construction in 2019.
According to a Townsman article, Vicor was accused by a union, of violating this agreement,by failing to hire local construction workers.
A spokesperson for Vicor responded by saying that the company had complied because the agreement did not dictate the hiring practices of third party contractors.