Comments by "Lyn FL" (@lynfl9814) on "Processing Integrated Circuits at Bell Labs (1979) - ATu0026T Archives" video.

  1. It is amazing to watch many of the jobs I did at the Allentown, PA AT&T (Western Electric) plant. I started in 1973 at the Allentown Plant and ended my career working for Agere Systems (The company transition in Allentown was Western Electric/AT&T/Lucent/Agere) in Breinigsville, PA in 2003. The Allentown Manufacturing Building was probably more than a city block and it had two floors. Bell Labs (Research and Development) was also a large area of this plant. All these type plants are now in China and a few other countries. I don't know if there are any 'Chip' Manufacturing Plants remaining in the US. This is so sad. The remainder of what was once AT&T (Ma Bell) disappeared in 2003. All the remaining AT&T plants were closed. And, the AT&T we knew disappeared forever. The site where the AT&T plant was in Allentown, PA is now a Baseball Stadium for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (a Minor League for the Philadelphia Phillies).
    4
  2. I agree.
    1
  3. Did you work in Chip manufacturing in Cleanrooms?
    1
  4.  @RichardFallstich  The reason I asked was because their were several packaging and testing areas, as well. Most of this was in the lower level of the plant. Over my career, I worked in some of these areas, also.
    1
  5.  @RichardFallstich  Your explanation of the Allentown Plant was more detailed and accurate than mine. Thank you for the comment. I just stumbled on this video on YouTube; I thought you would find it fascinating. I worked in many cleanrooms in the Allentown plant over my career. In watching this video it made me feel like what we worked on was at the Model T level as in comparison to cars produced today. The title of this video is: Why The World Relies On ASML For Machines That Print Chips. Here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSVHp6CAyQ8
    1
  6. Many are; but, many are still alive. I started at the Allentown Plant in 1973 and ended my career working for Agere System in 2003. The transition of companies at the Allentown Plant was (Western Electric which was manufacturing of AT&T, then we became AT&T, then Lucent Technologies, then Agere Systems). In 2003, all remaining plants and companies were sold, and our manufacturing came to an end. I will be 70 years old soon.
    1