FIBER-OPTIC MAKER ADDS THIRD FACILITY.

Byline: Suzie St. John Staff Writer

CHATSWORTH - The rapid expansion of the fiber-optic industry has prompted MRV Communications to added a third facility to its Chatsworth operations.

The new 50,000-square-foot facility in the 20000 block of Nordhoff Street will be used for research and development, engineering, packaging, integration, testing, sales and marketing.

Currently, 200 people are working in the new facility, with most focusing on research and design.

MRV Communications is one of the world's leading suppliers of fiber- optic components for the telecommunications, data communications and wireless industries.

The new building took about nine months to complete and can accommodate up to 400 employees, said spokeswoman Diana Hayden.

MRV expects to add a number of scientists and engineers to its research and design staff in the near future, she said.

The expansion is expected to increase capacity, provide a quicker time to market with better quality control, and lower manufacturing costs.

The company's other two facilities focus more on the housing of equipment than on staffing and have a combined square footage of about 20,000.

``Our business has been growing at a steady pace of 30 percent a year,'' Hayden said. ``We've seen some great increases in our stock prices.''

At the end of business Thursday, MRV's stock closed at 81.9375, up 6.875 from Wednesday.

``The fiber-optic component industry is expanding at a tremendous rate and MRV is well-positioned to capitalize on this market,'' Noam Lotan, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. ``Our expansion capacity provides added momentum to MRV's end goal to revolutionize and dominate the fiber-optic component market.''