EMD Electronics Announces $1 Billion Investment in U.S. to Support Semiconductor Customers

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EMD Electronics, the North American Electronics business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, announced approximately $1 billion in investments through 2025 in the US to accelerate growth opportunities in the electronics market. EMD Electronics will heavily invest in R&D and capacity. Over the next five years, the company plans to spend around $2.5 billion globally in long-term fixed assets (CapEx) in Semiconductor and Display Solutions.

"The chip shortage needs industry-wide cooperation to resolve the supply chain issues consumers are currently facing. We are investing in the US to expand our production capacity and innovation footprint to support our customers' ambitious growth plans," said Kai Beckmann, Member of the Executive Board of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and CEO Electronics.

In the US, EMD Electronics plans to invest primarily in its Arizona, California, Texas, and Pennsylvania sites. As part of the "Level Up" growth program which includes a global investment of significantly more than $3.5 billion, the company seeks to capture the growth opportunities that come along with the significantly accelerating global demand for innovative semiconductor and display materials. This demand is driven by exponential data growth and highly impactful technology trends such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things and 5G. The global investment also adds to the ambition of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, to accelerate growth by investing in its "Big 3" businesses, including the Semiconductor Solutions business unit as a key driver.

The Level Up growth program focuses on four mutually reinforcing key priorities: Scale, Technology, Portfolio, and Capabilities. Further investing in these four areas builds the foundation of the company's more ambitious growth targets, in conjunction with the strong demand for electronics materials, particularly semiconductors. The priorities Scale and Technology support the massive capacity expansion that is happening globally in the semiconductor and electronics industries fueled by large-scale investments from its customers. Under the priority area Portfolio, the company seeks to exploit attractive, external growth opportunities via selected bolt-on acquisitions. Furthermore, Level Up will initiate or accelerate important internal initiatives under the Capabilities priority.