Merck, a German multinational science and technology company, has announced an agreement with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to expand its semiconductor manufacturing site in Hometown.
This expansion is part of Merck's Level Up growth program, which aims to invest over € 3 billion in innovation and capacity expansion projects by 2025.
The approximately € 300 million investment in the Hometown site will further develop the world's largest integrated Specialty Gases facility and support the success of Merck's Semiconductor Solutions business.
“Despite near-term cautions due to the industry’s cyclical nature, the demand for semiconductor materials remains very promising long term,” said Kai Beckmann, Member of the Executive Board of Merck and CEO Electronics. “Having domestic production capacity for critical electronics components has become a high priority for many economies. As the brains of modern electronics, semiconductors enable technology critical to economic growth and global competitiveness. Our expansion plans will support our customers’ investments in the U.S. and boost our overall global footprint of manufacturing facilities around the globe.”
The agreement with Pennsylvania includes incentive targets associated with at least 68 new jobs and significant potential investments that will enable the company to capture and grow its semiconductor materials business in North America and Europe and provide supplemental capacity to supply Asia.
Merck is investing significantly in R&D and manufacturing capacities in its Electronics US sites, primarily in Arizona, California, Texas, and Pennsylvania. By the end of the first half of 2023, the company expects to start operations at its new factory in the greater Phoenix, Arizona area for the manufacture of equipment for its Delivery Systems & Services (DS&S) business.
Last year, Merck successfully executed investments aimed at expanding its semiconductor materials production capacities in Asia. For example, the company opened a new DS&S facility in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, as well as its China Electronics Technology Center and a production facility for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) materials in Shanghai, China.
Also in 2022, the company acquired the chemical business of the Korean company Mecaro. Earlier this year, Merck broke ground in a second facility in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, that will produce specialty gases and semiconductor materials for thin film and structuring applications as of 2025.
