Continue the professional development that just took place at the IAMC
Spring Forum in Biloxi by exploring with IAMC Chair Karen Shchuka the
steps needed to achieve the next level of professional value
enhancement, and learning some strategic and practical lessons companies
share about emerging from the pandemic.
Even before last week’s progress on the European Chips Act, Infineon
Technologies in February announced it was starting construction of a
new 1,000-job plant in Dresden, Germany, for analog/mixed-signal
technologies and power semiconductors.
Rendering courtesy of Infineon
Companies waiting to see what Europe does in response to the
United States’ CHIPS Act got their update last week when a
political agreement was reached between the European
Parliament and EU member states on the European Chips Act, first
proposed in February 2022. “Through the European Chips Act,
the European Union aims to reach its target to double its
current global market share to 20% in 2030,” a release
stated. The first pillar — the Chips for Europe Initiative —
will be supported by €6.2 billion of public funds, €3.3
billion will come from the EU budget agreed to last week for
the period until 2027. This support will come in addition to
€2.6 billion in public funding already foreseen for
semiconductor technologies, the European Commission stated.
Hitachi High-Tech Corp. last week announced that it will construct a new
production facility in the Kasado area of Kudamatsu City, Yamaguchi
Prefecture, “with a view to increasing production capacity of etching
systems for its semiconductor manufacturing equipment business, with
production scheduled to begin in FY2025. The new facility will double
production capacity through digitalized and automated production lines,
in order to cater to the ever-increasing demand for semiconductor
manufacturing equipment,” the company said. “The facility will also be
carbon-neutral, in line with Hitachi High-Tech’s goal to achieve carbon
neutrality at all of its business sites (factories and offices) by
FY2027, in aims of realizing a decarbonized society. Hitachi High-Tech
will create new value and solve customer issues by shortening
development times, reducing costs and increasing productivity, in order
to contribute to sustainable industrial development supporting a digital
society.”
Officially opened last May, phase one of this project at the company’s
site in Isando, Johannesburg, Gauteng, involved construction of a new
office complex and warehouse. Planning for phase 2 of the project — a
new lubricants plant — is underway and would involve an investment
amount twice that of phase 1. Other recent grease plant investments from
the company have come in the Chicago-area community of Harvey, Illinois;
Australia; Wujiang, China; Sweden; and in Kaiserslautern and Mannheim in
Germany, as well as at an expanded Asian HQ and R&D hub in Shanghai. The
90-year-old Fuchs Group, founded in Mannheim, in 1931, today encompasses
58 companies and more than 5,700 employees worldwide.
In a state where renewables already represent 18% of net power
generation, corporate, state and federal leaders are all on board to
reduce emissions and expand clean energy opportunities.
Photo of Starship before last week’s
launch courtesy of SpaceX
SpaceX launched its Starship last week in Texas and it burst into flames
not long thereafter, inspiring the company’s official introduction into
the lexicon of the now-infamous euphemism “rapid unscheduled
disassembly.” Yet SpaceX HQ employees cheered wildly and positive
messages emanated from all corners of the globe to which the rocket’s
debris returned. One of those messages came from Florida, in language
that seemed to exude support and rivalry all at once:
“Today’s Starship launch underscores the importance of an ecosystem that
enables and supports fundamental change in how we do things,” said
outgoing Space Florida President and CEO Frank DiBello, “and we are
building that system in Florida to allow innovators to imagine, build,
launch, recover, and even refurbish and relaunch — all from the Sunshine
State. We look forward to a bright future for SpaceX with Starship,
doing exactly that — building, processing, launching, and recovering,
refurbishing and re-launching right here from Florida’s Spaceport
System.”
Space Florida on April 11 announced the search had begun for a new
president and CEO as DiBello plans to retire on June 30. A portal to
upload a resume, cover letter and references is now available at www.spaceflorida.gov/transition. The agency says
its activities have had a $5.9 billion economic impact on the state
since 2007 and, beginning in 2023, it projects to have a $1.1 billion
annual economic impact. — Adam Bruns
