Dec. 20—Entegris, a Massachusetts-based global supplier of electronic materials that support the semiconductor and other high-tech industries, plans to spend up to $600 million to build what it calls "a manufacturing center of excellence" on Colorado Springs' northwest side that could add as many as 600 jobs over the next several years.

Officials with Entegris, which has a longtime presence in the Springs, announced the company's local expansion Tuesday during a star-studded news conference attended by Gov. Jared Polis, U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper and Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, among others, at the downtown U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum.

The company's news was met with champagne toasts by those in attendance and a festive atmosphere to celebrate what Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce & EDC's president and CEO, said could mean a nearly $2.5 billion local economic impact over the next five years.

"Folks, opportunities like this don't come around every day for cities, even larger cities," Suthers said during the news conference. "And as the 39th-largest city in the country, we are very grateful to the leadership at Entegris for bringing this extraordinary project to Colorado Springs."

Entegris' announcement represents a second major economic development coup for Colorado Springs in the past five days; on Friday, Zivaro, a Denver-based information and technology company that serves government and national defense partners, said it would bring more than 300 jobs to the Springs as part of an expansion.

Entegris plans to build a facility that will make "critical products used to manufacture semiconductors," company officials and local business leaders said Tuesday.

Such a facility underscores what federal, state and local officials say is an urgent need to ramp up the nation's capacity to manufacture semiconductors and bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S., officials said.

A key piece of such efforts: in August, the federal CHIPS Act — which stands for Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science — became law; the bipartisan legislation was passed to encourage funding for the construction of microprocessor manufacturing facilities in the United States, among other initiatives.

"I believe that the plan we are announcing today firmly establishes Colorado and Entegris as key players in the nationwide push to ensure that the U.S. is at the forefront of advanced technology manufacturing," Bertrand Loy, Entegris' president and chief executive officer, said during the news conference.

"And obviously all of that requires new capacity, which is really leading us to make an investment in a new manufacturing center of excellence in Colorado Springs," he added. "And this will help position us to meet the growing needs for our products and solutions across the broad semiconductor ecosystem."

Details of the company's project include:

— Entegris plans to locate its new manufacturing facility on nearly 90 vacant acres at 301 S. Rockrimmon Blvd. The site had been home to a manufacturing plant operated by California tech giant Hewlett-Packard before it was torn down a decade ago; Entegris is in talks with the property's current Colorado Springs owners to purchase the land. The Rockrimmon Boulevard site is north of an existing Entegris facility on Arrowswest Drive and just off Garden of the Gods Road — a corridor where several high-tech companies have operated for decades.

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— The company plans to start with construction of a 100,000-square-foot building, said Bill Shaner, Entegris' senior vice president and president of advanced materials handling. He didn't say how large the company's ultimate manufacturing facility might be. But the 100,000-square-foot building is the beginning and company officials are optimistic of an expansion, he said.

"We wanted to pick a piece of land that would be able to give us room to move and expand," Shaner said. "... That's what you'll see over time. I mean, our vision is to have more of a college campus kind of feel to it."

Entegris will make an approximate $200 million initial investment in the 100,000-square-foot facility that will cover land purchase, building and equipment costs, Shaner said.

— Over the next several years, Entegris anticpates its investment will grow to $600 million as it builds out its facility, Shaner said. That investment is subject to Entegris receiving government regulatory approvals and its receipt of state and local financial incentives, he added.

In November, the Colorado Economic Development Commission approved nearly $3.9 million in incentives for the company.

Locally, the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC, along with several development organizations, utilities and municipal institutions, put together incentives valued at more than $115 million. That package includes funding from the city of Colorado Springs, rebates from Colorado Springs Utilities, the creation of an urban renewal district and money from the joint city-Chamber & EDC Deal Closing Fund.

The Rockrimmon Boulevard site also is located within a Colorado Springs enterprise zone, where job-creating employers are eligible for tax breaks.

— Entegris' $600 million investment will have a $2.47 billion impact on the local economy, Reeder Kleymeyer said.

"Now that, ladies and gentlemen," she said to a round of applause at Tuesday's news conference, "is a win for our economy."

— Entegris' 600 new jobs would double the company's presence in in the state. The company plans to hire managers, technicians, chemists, engineers and warehouse operators and estimates average annual wages of nearly $75,000. Those jobs, in turn, would have a ripple effect and create another 1,750 direct and indirect jobs.

"That's good news for Colorado Springs, it's good news for the employees who will benefit from those jobs, it's good news for our state and it's good news for our nation," Polis said. "And yes, it'll be good news for Entegris as Colorado contributes to the further success of a great company."