Cree’s Ruud Lighting Subsidiary Announces 208,000-Square-Foot Facility Expansion to Create 469 Full-time Jobs Over the Next Four Years

STURTEVANT, WISC. -- Cree, Inc.’s Ruud Lighting subsidiary, based in Racine, Wisc., will hold a groundbreaking ceremony today to highlight a 208,000-square-foot expansion to its manufacturing facility. The company’s $24.5 million investment will focus on manufacturing and assembly of LED lighting and is expected to create 469 new full-time jobs 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 lighting products. In addition to the 208,000-square-foot facility, the investment will include equipment needed to expand manufacturing operations. Most of the full-time jobs will be assembly positions, with other opportunities to follow growing demand for LED lighting products.

“This is exciting news for the lighting industry and Racine County,” said Christopher Ruud, president of Cree’s Ruud Lighting subsidiary. “Beyond Cree’s dedication to advancing LED lighting technology, it’s a long-term investment in the people of Racine County and the community’s manufacturing base.”

To help offset the company’s $24.5 million investment, Ruud Lighting will receive funding and incentives related to local job creation from sources including the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC); Racine County; Racine County Economic Development Corporation (RCEDC); and the Village of Sturtevant, totaling more than $8 million.

About Cree Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and making energy-wasting traditional lighting technologies obsolete through the use of energy-efficient, mercury-free LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting, and semiconductor products for power and radio-frequency (RF) applications.

Cree's product families include LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and RF devices. Cree products are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, electronic signs and signals, power supplies and solar inverters.

For additional product and company information, please refer to www.CreeLEDLighting.com. To learn more about the LED Lighting Revolution, please visit www.creeledrevolution.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, including the risk we may encounter delays or other difficulties in ramping up production at our new facilities; customer acceptance of LED products; the possibility that actual savings may vary from expectations; the rapid development of new technology and competing products that may impair demand or render Cree’s products obsolete; and other factors discussed in Cree’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 27, 2011, and subsequent filings.

Cree is a registered trademark of Cree, Inc. BetaLED is a registered trademark of Ruud Lighting, Inc.