Chip component plant to get $300M expansion in Pennsylvania
The electronics subsidiary of German company Merck KGaA says it will spend $300 million to expand its specialty gas production facility in eastern Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The electronics subsidiary of German multinational health care company Merck KGaA said Wednesday it will spend $300 million to expand its specialty gas production facility in eastern Pennsylvania in a step that state officials hope will help boost the area's appeal to the fast-growing semiconductor industry.
The subsidiary, EMD Electronics, said the expansion will create the world’s largest integrated specialty gases facility as part of its program to invest over $3.5 billion on projects by 2025, including at sites in Arizona, Texas and California.
Company officials say the site houses a research center and synthesizes materials that form core building blocks of transistors, a component of microchips.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, who attended the announcement at the site in Schuylkill County, pledged more than $1 million in state grants for the expansion.
