The Intel Corporation, which has unveiled its new Pentium IV computer processor, has denied that the component is completely manufactured in Israel, but said that only part of the chip is produced in the company’s Israeli plant, in the industrial zone of Kiryat Gat.
Speaking to Gulf News, Gilbert Lacroix, Intel’s regional general manager for the Middle East and North Africa, said that the wafer is the only Pentium IV component produced in Israel. The microprocessor is made in another company factory, he added, and the product is packaged in a third. “The product was made in five factories actually," he said.
Intel does not involve itself with politics, Lacroix stated, noting that the company is currently investing heavily in the Arab world, and in particular Egypt. Intel operates two factories in Israel.
An article in the November 22 edition of Globes, an Israeli on-line business daily, reported that the Intel plant in Kiryat Gat succeeded in manufacturing four times the forecast quantity of the new Pentium IV processors. Until recently, the report stated, it was not certain whether the plant would meet the requirements of the parent company.
Lacroix said that the Pentium IV processors will be able to meet regional demand quickly. Intel has sold about 80,000 Pentium III chips in the Middle East and North Africa, and holds about 85 percent of the market. But the number of PCs in the region as a percentage of population is still to be small compared to North America and Western Europe.
"This is why even at an annual 25 percent growth, which is higher than the global average, the PC penetration levels are still relatively low,” he explained.
The Pentium IV processors that were introduced to the market last week operate at speeds of 1.4 and 1.5 Gigahertz. Intel also plans to manufacture a less expensive Pentium IV processor with a speed of 1.3 Gigahertz.
The Pentium IV processor is based on new micro-architecture, called NetBurst, which is said to facilitate improved performance of a three-dimensional processor, advanced Internet applications, and video and voice compression and encoding. — (Albawaba-MEBG)
