Promising to offer the most advanced silicon chip wafer technology manufactured in the United States by its projected opening in 2024, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) broke ground on its $12-billion fabrication plant in April on the west side of I-17 between Carefree Highway and Loop 303.
When TSMC’s new plant becomes operational in 2024, the facility is expected to produce 20,000 silicon wafers per month.
A little more than six months into construction, Nina Kao, spokesperson for the silicon chip giant told Valley Vibe concrete and rebar has been poured and set in for many of the physical structures, and the first steel beams were just raised on the site. At the time of this writing, Kao said 28 cranes were operating on the site, with more to be added.
TSMC purchased 1,128 acres of state trust land in December 2020, after a partnership between the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, Arizona Commerce Authority, Taiwan’s Economic Ministry, and the City of Taipei began forging in 2019. [See “Tech Gets Big in North Phoenix,” Valley Vibe, February 2021.]
The first steel beams have been raised on TSMC’s $12-billion North Phoenix chip factory.
In the midst of a global chip shortage affecting supply chains in manufacturing everything from computers to automobiles, Kao said the construction schedule remains on track for completion in 2024 for the facility expected to produce 20,000 silicon wafers per month.
“Once this is operational, this 5-nanometer fab will be the most advanced chip factory on U.S. soil,” Kao said.
The facility is projected to generate roughly 2,000 jobs directly in the technology sector and thousands of indirect jobs. TSMC has already hired about 500 employees for the Phoenix plant in 2021.
“Approximately 270 of these hires are in Taiwan working inside some of the world’s most advanced semiconductor fabs as part of the training process. They will spend 12-18 months in Taiwan before returning to Phoenix to help us ramp operations,” Kao said.
According to the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, 40-plus additional semiconductor supply companies are currently evaluating the metro Phoenix market to support companies like TSMC and Intel.