EMD Electronics, Governor announce expansion to Hometown plant
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Governor Josh Shapiro, left, and EMD Electronics President Jeff White unveil architectural renderings of a new expansion at the company's Hometown plant on April 12, 2023.
HOMETOWN – For the first time since 2018, a sitting governor visited Schuylkill County Wednesday, announcing the state’s $1.1 Million investment into the expansion of a Rush Township plant.
EMD Electronics, the successor to Air Products and Versum Materials, unveiled the $300 Million, 96,500-square-foot expansion at its plant on Marian Avenue near Hometown.
Company officials were joined by Governor Josh Shapiro and other state and local dignitaries, including State Senator David G. Argall, State Representative Jamie Barton, and Schuylkill County Commissioner Gary Hess.
Shapiro described EMD as a leader in the semiconductor industry, which produces specialty gases used in that manufacturing sector.
“Semiconductors power everything, from our smartphones to our cars,” Shapiro said. “We’ve seen what happens when there’s a pinch, a lack of supply, and we’ve also seen the potential when those semiconductors are available.”
“As semiconductor manufacturing expands across the country, there will be more demand for these gases and I’m proud that a significant portion of that demand will be met right here in Schuylkill County,” Shapiro added.
The new expansion will allow EMD to meet surging demand in the electronics and semiconductor industries by doubling the production capacity of tungsten hexafluoride and nitrogen trifluoride, critical components in semiconductor manufacturing.
“EMD believed in the potential of this Commonwealth,” Shapiro said. “They believed in our workforce. That’s why they’ve maintained a presence in Hometown for the last 50 years or so and why they’ve chosen to grow here.”
“They could’ve grown somewhere else, but they chose to build on a strong foundation right here in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro added. “They made a commitment to Schuylkill County.
Shapiro announced that the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) awarded EMD a $1,062,500 Pennsylvania First grant and a $122,000 workforce development grant to train workers. EMD will add 68 new jobs and retaining 289 existing, full-time jobs at its Schuylkill County location within the next five years, the state said. Approximately 120 jobs will be created to help with the construction of the new facility.
Jeff White, President of EMD Electronics, thanked the employees in attendance for their work in making the expansion possible.
“We have been the employer of choice in Hometown for almost 50 years. Our commitment to level up our business in Schuylkill County bodes well for the community and its global impact on the semiconductor industry,” White said. “We appreciate the efforts on the part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to recognize the value of our growth plans and work with us to make this expansion possible.”
“As we invest nearly $300 Million into this site, the world’s largest integrated specialty gases facility, right here in Schuylkill County, we will fortify our position locally, domestically, and globally,” said Jim Minicucci, Head of Specialty Gases at EMD Electronics. “We will expand existing product production capacities, we will deploy new technologies at this site, build new capabilities, and create tremendous opportunity for the community we operate in.”
“The investments here at Hometown are targeted to provide the much needed capacity and capabilities that our industry needs to ensure we have a robust and resilient supply chain moving forward,” Minicucci added.
Hometown, Minicucci said, is also an important innovation hub, where researchers are working on more efficient and environmentally-friendly gases, some of which he called “game-changing.”
Minicucci said the new expansion should be on-line in 2024 and would “showcase and highlight a commitment to environmental sustainability.”
Additional Photos
About Author
