Epson Portland Plans New Plant

Epson Portland Inc. plans to expand its presence in Hillsboro by the end of next year with a new $15 million printer plant.

The new plant will mean 500 new jobs, and have the capacity to product 200,000 printers a month, Steve Klein, Epson’s executive vice president, said Wednesday.

Epson opened its factory in Portland’s western suburbs nearly 10 years ago. The 180,000-square-foot plant currently employs about 1,000 people and turns out 100,000 to 130,000 printers each month.

Construction on the factory, which will cover 210,000 square feet, is scheduled to begin this month.

Epson already is a leader in dot-matrix printers, and has been gaining ground in the newer ink-jet market, which is dominated by Hewlett Packard Co., said industry analyst John Goetz.