Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
A Falls Township-based chemical company has broken ground on a multi-million facility that will help with the blossoming U.S. semiconductor manufacturing industry.
Officials from Gelest Inc., which is owned by Mitsubishi Chemical Group, put ceremonial shovels in the ground Friday ahead of the start of construction on the new 50,000-square-foot facility at the firm’s existing production, research and development, and headquarters campus on East Steel Road.
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The company aims to have the facility completed by September 2024.
Company officials said the first phase of hiring will add 25 staff members, with additional jobs likely with the expansion of the operation.
The facility will manufacture chemicals needed for semiconductors, which are vital in modern society, and many other advanced devices.
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“We are leveraging the technical expertise of the local workforce and recruiting from local universities. In addition, we are supporting the trend towards on-shoring business, thereby fortifying the U.S. supply chain for crucial materials for advanced manufacturing,” said Jonathan Goff, the vice president of the Custom Synthesis Division for Mitsubishi Chemical Group and president of Gelest, which operates at two sites in Falls Township.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
For the new building, which is titled Project Sahara, Gelest is partnering with Lam Research Corp., of Fremont, California, to develop and manufacture precursor chemicals for use in Lam’s dry photoresist technology for EUV lithography. The dry resist EUV technology is involved in advanced semiconductor manufacturing.
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“This precursor production will be a key technology operated at a commercial scale in the new building, ensuring a robust supply,” company officials said.
“We’re installing state-of-the-art equipment designed for development, analysis, packaging, and large scale manufacturing of highly specialized chemistries to support advanced technology markets. The quality and process control systems for this facility will meet the rigorous requirements of today’s and tomorrow’s customers and markets,” said Neville Lockwood, the Gelest’s senior vice president of operations.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
The new facility will have a 3,000 square-foot, ISO 7 clean room featuring advanced analytical instrumentation.
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Semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. is expected to grow in the coming years due to a recent federal law that invests in the industry and a move to return some of the industry stateside.
Gelest formed in 1991 and established its headquarters in Falls Township in 2001. It now has nine buildings in the township.
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The new facility will be constructed at a former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency brownfield site that was once part of U.S. Steel’s large operations.
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