Cree Subsidiary Could Add 469 Jobs

Ruud Lighting, a subsidiary of Cree Inc., announced a 208,000-sq-ft expansion to its manufacturing facility and a $24.5 million investment in the fabrication and assembly of LED lighting. The company estimates that 469 full-time jobs, mostly assembly positions, will be created over the next four years.

“Cree’s recent acquisition of Ruud Lighting and its BetaLED products brought together two leading LED lighting companies under one roof,” said Chuck Swoboda, chairman and CEO of Cree. “Last month this facility shipped its 500,000th LED luminaire — further evidence of the market demand for the latest LED technology and a need to expand our facilities to maintain our leadership of the LED lighting revolution.”

The expansion will extend component and product storage capacity and house several new manufacturing lines for new and existing Cree LED production. The company will also invest in manufacturing equipment.

To offset costs, Ruud Lighting will receive funding and incentives related to local job creation totaling more than $8 million. The sources include the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., Racine County, Racine County Economic Development Corp. and the village of Sturtevant.

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