See inside: Wolfspeed nears completion of its $5B Chatham County factory
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Wolfspeed's under-construction factory in Siler City, N.C. Photo: Zachery Eanes/Axios
Wolfspeed, the Durham semiconductor maker, hopes to take full occupancy of its under-construction factory in Chatham County in March and begin production in June, the company told Axios.
Why it matters: Wolfspeed's $5 billion Siler City plant, which will make silicon carbide crystals used in electric vehicles, is part of a wave of large expansions that North Carolina landed in the past four years. Along with Toyota in Randolph County and Fujifilm Diosynth in Holly Springs, Wolfspeed's facility is one of the few that is nearing completion.
- State and local governments have pledged more than $700 million in incentives for the project, some of which has already been used to prepare the site and others that will only be awarded if the company reaches hiring targets set by the state.
Driving the news: Wolfspeed gave Axios a tour of its under-construction facility on Wednesday, where hundreds of construction workers were still putting the finishing touches on the 2.2-million-square-foot factory.
- The facility will produce 200-millimeter silicon carbide crystals, a larger and more efficient structure than it currently produces.
- The large property, about 60 miles west of Raleigh, has enough room to handle an expansion of the existing site by another 2 million square feet, said Chris McCann, the vice president of global project management at Wolfspeed.
Zoom in: The site could ultimately employ around 1,800 workers in the coming years, and during peak construction around 3,800 people were on the site, according to McCann.
- Some testing of its crystal production is already underway at the facility — but once the site is completed the factory will be able to produce silicon carbide crystals and ultimately refine them into wafers.
- So far, Wolfspeed has hired more than 200 workers at its Siler City facility, a company spokesperson told Axios
State of play: Wolfspeed, founded on technology built at N.C. State University, has undergone some turbulent times in recent months.
- Last year, the company trimmed its headcount by 20%, closed one of its existing factories in Durham, shelved plans for a factory in Germany and fired its CEO after the company stock price suffered large declines.
- The company has not yet named a full-time successor as CEO and analysts say the company remains an attractive acquisition target.
At the same time, the company remains in negotiations with the incoming Trump Administration to finalize a $750 million CHIPS Act grant for boosting semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S., according to a company spokesperson. The funding will support the Siler City plant's expansion.
- Trump has criticized the CHIPS Act in the past, leading some to worry its future could be in doubt, Fox Business reported.
- Trump's incoming Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, however, has referred to the CHIPS Act as an "excellent down payment," Bloomberg News reported.
