- The company plans to invest $880 million in long term; will expand its Colorado Springs plant to produce more silicon and silicon carbide
- The city of Colorado Springs and El Paso County also announced that Microchip was approved for state and local incentives of around $47M for the expansion
Leading provider of embedded control solutions, Microchip Technology is set to expand its silicon carbide (SiC) and silicon (Si) production capacity at its Colorado Springs, Colo. manufacturing facility over the next several years. Overall, the company plans to invest $880M in the project aimed at amplifying its production capacity, which will enable Microchip to respond to growing semiconductor demand across industries.
According to Microchip’s official communication, one significant phase of the expansion is to develop and upgrade its 50-acre, 580,000-square-foot Colorado Springs campus for increased SiC manufacturing for use in automotive/E-Mobility, grid infrastructure, green energy, and aerospace and defence applications.
President & CEO of Microchip Technology, Ganesh Moorthy remarked, “Microchip Colorado Springs has a long history of partnering with the city and state and we applaud their continued support of our efforts to advance the semiconductor industry in the U.S. The CHIPS and Science Act is already making a positive impact on our business through the Investment Tax Credit and we are seeking capacity expansion grants for several of our semiconductor factories, including our Colorado Springs factory. We see a bright future in the region made possible by great partnerships, state and local incentives, and a strong local talented workforce.”
Pleased that Microchip selected this facility as the site for such a significant investment and expansion, Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers said, “We estimate this will grow our local economy by approximately $1.4 billion over the next 10 years and create roughly 400 new high-paying jobs for those living in the Pikes Peak Region. Ramping up the production of semiconductors is critical to satisfying growing demand across many industries, and Colorado Springs is proud to be one of the key locations where this effort is taking place.”
The company mentioned that its Colorado Springs campus currently employs over 850 people and produces products from 6-inch wafers. The manufacturing technology that Microchip is installing will run on 8-inch wafers, which will significantly increase the number of chips produced at this location. Microchip expects to create 400 jobs at the facility ranging from production specialists to technical roles in equipment procurement and management, process control and test engineering.
U.S. Senator for Colorado John Hickenlooper commented, “Thanks to our CHIPS Act and Microchip, we’re bringing manufacturing back to America. Semiconductors are the space race of our time, and Colorado is going to help us win it.”
Senior vice president of Microchip’s Analog businesses, Rich Simoncic stated, “With over two decades of investment in silicon carbide, Microchip’s portfolio is designed to provide our customers with innovative power solutions. This campus is an integral part of producing our SiC technology to assure our customers with supply certainty as they transition to SiC solutions.”
President and CEO of Colorado Springs Chamber & Economic Development Corporation, Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer said: “Microchip’s expansion in Colorado Springs and El Paso County puts our region on the map for investment from the CHIPS and Science Act. We are proud to lead Microchip’s expansion project and support the reshoring of these important manufacturing jobs to the Pikes Peak region.”
Arizona-headquartered Microchip Technology Inc. identifies as s leading provider of smart, connected and secure embedded control solutions. The company claims that its easy-to-use development tools and comprehensive product portfolio enable customers to create optimal designs which reduce risk while lowering total system cost and time to market.
