Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) broke ground on a new 120,000-square-foot research and development facility in Tualatin, Oregon, the first milestone in a planned $3 billion investment in its global lab network over the next five years.

The new facility is expected to increase cleanroom lab space at Lam's existing Tualatin R&D center by more than 50% and is projected to open in 2028. The company said the lab will support advanced deposition and etch process development, materials science, and hardware validation.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, U.S. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read, and senior leaders from Intel Corporation and Micron Technology, among others.

According to a third-party assessment using the IMPLAN model, the construction project is expected to generate approximately 900 jobs and $500 million in economic output over the three-year building period. Once completed, the expansion is projected to add more than 400 new Lam jobs and increase the company's annual economic contribution in Oregon to more than $1.8 billion, while supporting more than 11,000 jobs statewide.

"This expansion reflects our continuing commitment to advancing the Silicon Forest as a leader in U.S. semiconductor innovation," said Sesha Varadarajan, Lam's executive vice president and chief operating officer.

The new Oregon lab is part of a planned multi-building expansion at Lam's Tualatin campus. The company said the facility is intended to join its integrated network of specialized labs worldwide and enable on-site collaboration with customers throughout product development.