EMD Electronics is eligible for up to $4.5 million in performance-based state tax credits, as officials touted the company’s $200 million investment in the state.
Gov. Tony Evers and WEDC Secretary and CEO John Miller on Friday applauded the opening of the firm’s 38,000-square-foot R&D facility at its site in Sheboygan Falls.
EMD Electronics is the North American electronics business of Germany’s Merck KGaA, a science and technology corporation that had more than $23 billion in revenue last year.
The new R&D space is meant to improve the company’s ability to develop advanced materials for manufacturing semiconductors, a critical component of widely-used technologies like smartphones, computers and vehicles.
Bing Han, executive vice president and head of thin films at EMD Electronics, notes AI is driving “increasing complexity and performance requirements” for the semiconductor industry, which has seen billions of dollars in federal investment given its economic and strategic importance.
“Materials innovation remains at the core of that transformation, but success increasingly depends on combining materials discovery, process expertise, and scale-up capabilities,” Han said, adding the new R&D site will help address customers’ “most complex materials challenges.”
Meanwhile, Evers touted his administration’s business investments through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and emphasized the project’s impact on the local economy. It’s expected to create 44 new “high-paying” jobs, the guv’s office says.
“Together with EMD Electronics, we’re expanding Wisconsin’s manufacturing capabilities and increasing economic opportunity for folks in Sheboygan Falls and throughout the region,” Evers said in a statement.
As with most projects getting tax credit support through WEDC, the amount the company can claim will depend on hitting certain targets for both job creation and capital expenditures.
The R&D facility has eight specialized laboratories for product development functions, ranging from discovery to development and packaging, the company says. It’s also powered by renewable energy.
The Sheboygan Falls site represents just one of the company’s targets for boosting manufacturing capabilities domestically, as EMD Electronics has announced plans for a $1 billion, five-year investment in its U.S.-based presence.
Along with a further investment in Sheboygan Falls slated for completion next year, the company has recently expanded facilities in California and Oklahoma.
