MOSES LAKE - Construction on REC Silicon's new Moses Lake research and development laboratory is about to get underway.

Project Manager Kevin Smith said the company began design work on the 11,400 square-foot facility in January. Their plan is to have the building completed by the end of this year, he said.

The research lab will be located on the southeast corner of REC Silicon's Moses Lake plant, according to City of Moses Lake documents. The company submitted a building permit application for the project recently.

The total development area is about 63,000 square feet including parking for about 20 vehicles, access, loading and landscaping, according to the application.

A construction contract was awarded Wednesday to Chervenell Construction, of Kennewick, said Smith. Crews will begin moving dirt early next week, he said.

Smith said the facility will cost an estimated $6 million to build.

Half of the one-story building will be dedicated to actual lab space to support various research and development activities. The rest of the building will hold offices and a conference room.

REC Silicon currently has a lab facility in Foster City, Calif., said Smith.

"We're moving that lab up here to Moses Lake to be closer to operations and to improve the logistics of our research and development staff in Foster City with plant operations here in Moses Lake," he said.

REC will initially bring two employees up from California to begin with, said Smith. Other R&D employees could be hired locally as operations ramp up, he said.

Smith said the new lab will benefit operations at both of REC's plants, in Moses Lake and in Butte, Mont.

"The scope of the R&D laboratory really is to perform research that will help REC Silicon understand and improve each individual process within our production plants," he said. "With these efforts we can improve our operation's efficiency, reduce maintenance requirements and reduce waste as well."

One of the company's goals is to improve safe operations and limit the amount of unplanned outages at the plant, said Smith.

"When processes are better understood, operations can safely run without interruptions and with a lower risk of unplanned shutdowns," he said.

The new lab is key to the company's future, said Smith.

"It's a great endeavor for us," he said. "We are the world's lowest cost producer of granular polysilicon, we are at the top of the mountain when it comes to our product and we want to stay on top."

Smith said the new research and development lab is a way for the company to remain competitive in the industry.