Entegris, an advanced materials manufacturer, makes chemicals and other products necessary to build microchips. It is a large multinational company headquartered in Massachusetts, with operations in Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East. With help from the CHIPS Act of 2022, Entegris will begin building a new factory in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This plant will produce materials and equipment used in the process of making advanced microchips, which are vital to America’s industry and national security.
Currently, the U.S. has to import much of its demand for advanced microchips from Asia. Most of these chips come from South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and China. In the event of a geopolitical crisis in the Pacific region, all four sources of these imported microchips may be inaccessible. The COVID pandemic already revealed the harmful effects of a microchip shortage: automobiles and other chip-using equipment became substantially more expensive. To protect the U.S. economy, domestic semiconductor manufacturers must be well-supported by suppliers, especially Entegris.
Entegris Helps Boost Domestic Computer Chip Industry
The need to help domestic microchip firms led to the $75 million deal between Entegris and the Department of Commerce. With a stronger supply chain, U.S. chip-makers can produce more chips, bringing down prices on microchips and, therefore, the prices of products using such chips. The CHIPS Act subsidies will also help the Colorado Springs area by creating up to 1,100 new jobs – 500 construction jobs and 600 jobs at the new Entegris plant. With almost 500,000 residents, Colorado Springs is the second-largest city in Colorado and is a vital hub for the U.S. military.
With the Biden administration focused on boosting domestic microchip production, it is good to see that some CHIPS funding is going to related industries that feed into chip-making plants. Spending too much on chip manufacturing is inefficient if there is no steady supply chain to provide raw materials and equipment. Therefore, the $75 million deal with Entegris can maximize the taxpayer dollar for CHIPS subsidies – dollars are not wasted when chip producers have to wait for more material.
Company Partnering With Local Colleges to Help STEM Education
An extra benefit of the government’s deal with Entegris is that it will help bolster STEM education and workforce development in Colorado. Entegris is partnering with nearby school districts, colleges, and universities to recruit its growing labor force in the area. It also wants to recruit half of its workforce from military families, which is quite possible due to Colorado Springs’ prime location near many military bases and the U.S. Air Force Academy. Many dependents of military families will attend local school districts and colleges as well.
Currently, Entegris helps fund some STEM education through higher education grants to colleges and universities through the Entegris Foundation. It is also a longtime employer in Colorado Springs, meaning it has the connections and networks to implement its STEM education plans. The company says it wants to devote $30 million by 2030 to scholarships for women and minorities, much of which would likely go to Colorado colleges and universities.
Image credit: Entegris
