$30-Million Project : Rancho Bernardo to Be Site of New Intercon-x Plant

Intercon-x, an Aluminum Co. of America subsidiary, will break ground in August on a $30-million plant in Rancho Bernardo that will produce ceramic packages for the electronics and computer industries, the company said Thursday.

Intercon-x, which has 77 employees, expects its work force to grow to about 500 within five years, according to Richard Culbertson, president and chief executive of Intercon-x. Production will begin in 1988, Culbertson said.

Intercon-x has signed a letter of intent to acquire the land in Rancho Bernardo and begin construction on two buildings that will total about 100,000 square feet, Culbertson said.

The Alcoa subsidiary, formed in May, 1986, evolved from American Ceramics Technology, a San Diego-based company that Culbertson and a handful of other ceramics industry executives created in March, 1985. Culbertson previously served as president of American Ceramics Technology.

American Ceramics Technology had developed some of the proprietary ceramic materials that will be used by Intercon-x. More development work was completed in Pittsburgh by Alcoa, Culbertson said.

The ceramic packages to be manufactured by Intercon-x will be sold to companies that manufacture computers used by the telecommunications and medical industries and the military, Culbertson said.

In addition to Culbertson, the subsidiary’s officers include: Tom Rogers, vice president of marketing and technology; Bruno Heinss,vice president, operations; David Hester, controller, and Timothy Walters, director of sales.

The U.S. market for ceramic packages is expected to hit $600 million in 1986, according to Culbertson. He declined to speculate on what percentage of the market Intercon-x expects to share.

The market is dominated by Kyocera International Inc., NTK Corp. and General Electric Corp.

Kyocera, whose U.S. headquarters is in San Diego, last month bought a 26-acre tract in the Tijuana International Industrial Park.

The company did not, however, describe what kind of ceramic manufacturing would be done at the new site. A Kyocera spokeswoman did say that the new project would not affect employment in San Diego, where it has 1,600 employees.