Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation

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Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation is the largest producer of polysilicon in the United States. It is owned by Corning Inc. and Shin-Etsu Handotai, founded in 1961, and named after Hemlock, Michigan, the location of its factory. Its current facilities produce some 36,000 tons of polycrystalline silicon, ranking it among the top five producers worldwide.[1]

Polycrystalline silicon, also called polysilicon, is a high purity, polycrystalline form of silicon, used as a raw material by the solar photovoltaic and electronics industry.

Former Tennessee facility[]

The company expanded with the Japanese joint venture partners Shin-Etsu Chemical and Mitsubishi Materials, for a new $1.2 billion plant opening near Clarksville, Tennessee. Though it officially opened in 2012, chemicals were never inventoried and no product was made. The plant was under negotiations in 2011 for a further $3 billion expansion, to keep pace with manufacturing competition from China.[2]

In December 2014, Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation announced the permanent closure of the $1.2 billion Tennessee plant, due to adverse conditions from industry oversupply and ongoing challenges from global trade disputes. Many of the approximately fifty employees in Tennessee were offered employment positions in Michigan at the Hemlock Semiconductor or Dow Corning facilities, and the rest received severance packages.[3]

In December 2015, Google announced that they will buy the facility, and invest more than $600 million to turn it into their 15th datacenter.[4]

End Of Dow Corning Joint Venture[]

Dow Corning announced that June 1, 2016 would be "day one" such that [5] Dow Chemical Company will assume 100% ownership of the Dow Corning Corporation, concluding the 73-year joint venture between Dow Chemical and Corning Inc..

Hemlock Semiconductor continues as an independently run entity with two shareholders: Corning Inc. owns 80.5%, and Shin-Etsu Chemical owns 19.5%.[6]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ PV-tech.org: Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation
  2. ^ Knoxnews.com: Hemlock Semiconductor Corp. plans expansion Archived 2012-10-14 at the Wayback Machine; May 2011.
  3. ^ Hscpoly.com: Hemlock Semiconductor Corp. manufacturing-facility-closure
  4. ^ Welcoming Internet Engine No. 15
  5. ^ Dow Corning announces Silicones business leader and identifies June 1 as closing date
  6. ^ "Update on Corning's Ownership of Hemlock Semiconductor Group" (PDF).
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