Sep. 17--A Texas-based manufacturer called Benchmark Electronics has notified Oregon officials that it will close its Beaverton factory by the end of the year and lay off the entire work force of 183.

The Beaverton facility, which opened in 1991 on Tektronix's campus, makes electronic circuit boards and performs other comparatively low-tech production and repair. The factory, initially a Tektronix supplier, later worked with Mentor Graphics and other Oregon tech businesses.

The company gave the state no explanation for the closure, and managers in Texas and Oregon were not immediately available for comment.

Benchmark's second-quarter sales were off 29 percent, and the company said at the time that it remained "guarded about the overall economy."

The closure is the latest in a string of bad news for Oregon's withering technology sector, where employment is at a 13-year low.

Manufacturing jobs are under extreme pressure as producers shift remaining domestic work oversees. Integrated Device Technology plans to shutter its Hillsboro factory and outsource the work to Taiwan, eliminating hundreds of jobs. RadiSys plans to send its remaining Oregon manufacturing to Asia by the middle of next year, cutting 80 jobs.

Tektronix acknowledged last month that it plans to shift significant production from Washington County to China.

It wasn't immediately clear if Benchmark Electronics still contracts with Tektronix, or if its decision is related to Tek's.

-- Mike Rogoway; Silicon Forest Blog; twitter: @rogoway

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