Optical-fiber and preform manufacturer FiberCore Inc. (Quote) said it has chosen Auburn, Alabama for its first U.S. manufacturing plant, which will primarily produce multimode fiber. The operating company running the plant, FiberCore U.S., will be a wholly owned subsidiary of FiberCore Inc.
FiberCore said it will contribute one-third of the $30 million estimated project cost. The remaining funds will be in the form of a 15-year loan provided by The Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA), which manages over $25 billion in assets.
FiberCore said the loan will carry an 8% interest rate with equal semiannual installment payments. The plant's property, plant and equipment will serve as collateral for the loan. Under the terms of the agreements reached with RSA and the City of Auburn, the funding commitment and land grant expires on September 30, 2002 unless the Company makes an initial draw on or before that date.
In addition to the contribution of the site property by the City of Auburn, valued at approximately $1.1 million, FiberCore U.S. will be eligible to receive tax abatements and credits and other incentives from the city and state over the next 20 years with an estimated current value in excess of $10 million.
FiberCore also offers various grades of fiber for use in laser-based systems up to 10 gigabits/sec, to help guarantee high bandwidths and to suit the needs of Metropolitan Area Network, Fiber-to-the Curb, Fiber-to-the Home and Fiber-to-the Desk applications. Manufacturing facilities are presently located in Jena, Germany and Campinas, Brazil.
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