SK Siltron fab begins construction in Bay City, Michigan with Governor in person

On September 1, 2022, Congressman Dan Kildee (middle left), 5th District Congressman of Michigan, Jianwei Dong (middle right), CEO of SK Siltron CSS, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer cut the ribbon for the new SK Siltron CSS factory in Bay County.

"The opening of the factory is the result of everyone's hard work, hand in hand and gritted teeth," Whitmer told factory employees before attending the off-site ribbon-cutting ceremony. The $300 million factory will employ up to 150 people over three years.

Whitmer noted that SK Siltron CSS chose Monitor Township, located south of the Mackinac Road exit on U.S. Route 10, rather than potential locations such as Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

The Democratic governor said Michigan has a manufacturing workforce of 580,000 and an unemployment rate of 4.2 percent, which Whitmer said was the lowest since February 2020.

"I believe in Michigan, and SK Siltron believes in Michigan," Whitmer said.

SK Siltron CSS produces a SiC-specific chip that can be used in electric vehicles. These wafers are more efficient than regular silicon at handling high power and thermal conductivity.

SK Siltron's US subsidiary, SK Siltron CSS, now has more than 200 employees, up from 64 when SK Siltron was acquired from DuPont Electronics by SK Siltron.

Dr Jianwei Dong, CEO of SK Siltron CSS, said the Beicheng factory would "lead the way" in the manufacture of semiconductor chips for electric vehicles. "Today is a very important milestone for SK Siltron, Bay City and Clean Energy Solutions," he said.

Jeong Joon Yu said SK Siltron CSS operates in 15 U.S. states and employs about 4,000 people, and plans to expand the number of U.S. employees to 20,000 by the end of 2025.