Cree Lighting recently announced that it will increase its component manufacturing and final assembly, currently performed externally, at its facility in Racine, WI, as part of a larger expansion effort that began in 2019. The company will invest more than $8 million in total for state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment and improvements and expects to create nearly 100 manufacturing jobs once the project is completed. Currently, it has more than 1,000 administrative and manufacturing employees as its Racine facility and runs three shifts. The expansion has already begun and is expected to be completed over the next 12 months, with new positions filled by internal and external candidates.
“Vertically integrating manufacturing operations is an important part of the Cree Lighting strategy,” said Craig Atwater, general manager and senior vice president, in the release. “By further investing in our industry-leading manufacturing capabilities at our Racine facility, we can better serve our customers by reducing our lead times for these manufacturing processes from weeks to a matter of days.”