Micron To Invest $1 Billion In Boise

Micron Technology Inc. will invest most of its $1 billion capital budget next year to keep its local factory on the cutting edge of computer-chip manufacturing.

The budget for new equipment and buildings is 67 percent more than what Micron is spending this year. The enormous expenditure signals the company’s intent to continue investing in Idaho at the same time it brings its factory in Lehi, Utah, on line.

Micron makes dynamic random access memory chips - or DRAMs - mainly for personal computers.

A piece of equipment to make DRAMs costs millions of dollars but can become obsolete in a flash. That means Micron must replace every machine at its plant at least once every 3.4 years, Kipp Bedard, vice president of corporate affairs, said Monday.