Three Key Facts:
-
- Northern Michigan-based Calumet Electronics is using a $39.9 million award from the U.S. Dept. of Defense along with funds from the state of Michigan to build a $51 million, first-of-it-kind manufacturing facility to produce organic substrates for printed circuit boards used in military electronics and other industries.
- Calumet Electronics is the only major domestic supplier of organic substrates.
- State and local officials are working with the business community in successfully revitalizing the industrial base in Michigan’s rural Upper Peninsula, helping to turn it into a technology hub following the demise of copper mining in the late sixties.
-
“We did it. A bunch of Michiganders figured out how to do something that the rest of the country couldn’t figure out how to do!”
That statement comes from Todd Brassard, vice president of Calumet Electronics, an advanced electronics manufacturer in Michigan’s rural Upper Peninsula (UP). What they “figured out how to do” is produce organic substrates, a key component in advanced printed circuit boards.
While other countries dominate this growing market, Calumet Electronics is the only major U.S. supplier. In November 2023, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded Calumet Electronics $39.9 million to boost its ability to produce organic substrates, also called High-Density Build-Up substrates.
These thin, flexible materials – made from small organic molecules or polymers – provide a foundation for building complex electronic circuits. On advanced printed circuit boards, the semiconductor chip connects to the substrate and the substrate connects to the circuit board, allowing everything to work together.
The company will use the funding, along with a $7.5 million grant from the state of Michigan and a $758,877 tax break, to build a groundbreaking 60,000-square-foot substrate factory. The total investment for the project is $51 million. The move will preserve 269 jobs in Houghton County and enhance the skills of employees in 40 positions.
Calumet Electronics chief technology officer Meredith LaBeau told MLive that cracking the code on manufacturing organic substrates is a source of pride for the 56-year-old company. “We take a lot of pride that we can work with our local university, Michigan Tech, in a rural place and have the grit, determination and technologically-minded discipline to solve a problem that hasn’t been solved in the nation yet,” she said.
Calumet, a tiny town of just 675 residents, was hit hard when the last copper mines in the region closed in the late sixties, with the rest of the UP experiencing similar economic decline. Since then, government officials and the business community have worked hard to turn the entire region into a technology hub. Between 2021 to 2022 alone, entrepreneurs formed 34 new tech companies in the UP.
The state of Michigan is promoting efforts to diversify its industrial base by expanding into the semiconductors sector. The state is investing $4.6 million in grants and matching funds to support eight of Michigan higher education institutions with semiconductor education and training programs. The Semiconductor Industry Association expects to see 11% job growth over the next five years in Michigan in the semiconductor industry.
