Hemlock Semiconductor completes $375 million expansion project

Hemlock Semiconductor’s (HSC) recently completed a $375 million expansion of its  Thomas Township plant. The investment is part of a nationwide trend, following the passage of the Biden-Harris administration’s CHIPS and Science Act, which has stimulated private investment in the domestic semiconductor industry. 

“Michigan is becoming a global hub of semiconductor chip manufacturing, and we will continue bringing these critical supply chains home so we can create jobs, bring billions in investment to our communities, and lead the future,” said Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

HSC’s expansion is part of nearly $450 billion invested across 28 states since the passage of the 2022 law, which provided $52 billion to bolster the semiconductor manufacturing industry and supply chain in the United States. 

By increasing the size of the plant, HSC also strengthens Michigan’s position as a leader in the United States’s fast-growing semiconductor industry. Company leaders expect to add 170 new permanent high-wage jobs at the Saginaw County plant. The expansion also created about 200 construction jobs.

More than $364 million in new personal income is projected to be generated throughout the next decade as a result of HSC’s expansion.

HSC, a 64-year-old company, is one of the world’s top five producers of “hyper-pure polysilicon” and is the only such company headquartered in the United States. Hyper-pure polysilicon is the crucial raw material that serves as the semiconductor’s foundation. Semiconductors are found in virtually every electronic device on the planet, and demand for them continues to grow.

In order to make the expansion a reality, HSC worked with state and local governments to accommodate the additional demands on local infrastructure and public  utilities. Thomas Township, in coordination with Saginaw Township, significantly expanded its sanitary sewer capacity to support the new plant, building two new lift stations and five miles of main sewer lines.  The upgrades were supported by the Michigan Strategic Fund.

Gov. Whitmer announced recently that Michigan is putting $10 million into the state’s initiative with private industry and educational institutions “to develop a pipeline of skilled students and workers to advance semiconductor technology for the auto industry.”