Texas Instruments (TI) plans to build a new chip manufacturing facility in Sherman, Texas, on land equivalent to 24 football fields, KXII reports.
Just two years ago, a TI factory in Sherman closed down. The closure, along with a Dallas facility, would eventually lead to the loss of over 500 jobs during a three-to-five-year period.
The Sherman plant closed due to outdated technology. The company changed to a more advanced 300-millimeter analog wafer technology rather than the 150-millimeter variety made in Sherman.
Consequently, TI offered many workers positions at other manufacturing sites in the Dallas area.
“If you look at Sherman’s history, we’ve always kind of been a sleepy town,” Sherman Mayor David Plyler told KXII.
Thanks to this new facility, this could change. According to Governor Greg Abbott, the project will be the most significant economic development project in the state’s history.
Texas Instrument is not building just one semiconductor wafer fabrication plant, but four of them that will create 3,000 jobs. These will all use the more advanced 300-millimeter technology.
According to Plyler, there will also be about $30 billion invested. The town of about 50,000 residents beat out a bid from Singapore back in November of last year, keeping Texas Instruments in Texas.
Headquartered in Dallas, TI was created in 1951 after its parent company was reorganized. TI produced the first silicon transistor in 1954 and later that same year designed and manufactured the first transistor radio.
Jack Kilby invented the integrated circuit in its research labs in 1958, the hand-held calculator in 1967, and the single-chip microcontroller in 1970.
Texas Instruments holds 45,000 patents and is one of the top 10 semiconductor companies in the world.
According to Governor Abbott, the new Sherman plant could help with the worldwide chip shortage and grow the Texas economy.
Its location makes sense, according to CEO and President Rich Templeton. Being so close to Dallas, there will be opportunities to leverage engineering resources and make it easier for suppliers.
Plyler called the day a watershed moment for Sherman that would bring significant change to the community. TI anticipates that the first new facility will be open in 2025.