Dive Brief:
- Electronics maker TTM Technologies recently broke ground on a $130 million facility at its site in Dewitt, New York, according to an Oct. 4 press release.
- The facility will produce ultra-high-density interconnect printed circuit boards and advanced chip packaging for the U.S. military and semiconductor industry, according to the release.
- The upcoming 214,000-square-foot plant will create 400 manufacturing and engineering jobs. TTM will also invest in research and development to further incorporate advanced chip packaging and UHDI printed circuit board technologies country-wide.
Dive Insight:
The Department of Defense awarded TTM $30 million on Oct. 1 to support the development of the Dewitt facility.
The company will use the funds to purchase and install advanced manufacturing equipment and develop designs for printed circuit boards, in addition to construction, according to the DOD release.
“We listened to our critical aerospace and defense customers,” TTM President and CEO Thomas Edman said at the Dewitt construction site on Oct. 4. “You, our customers, asked us to fill a critical technology gap for ultra HDI high technology printed circuit board production in the United States. And with this large-scale facility, we are intent on filling that requirement.”
The new facility and its capabilities will also strengthen U.S. supply chain resilience in line with the agency’s first National Defense Industrial Strategy, according to Anthony Di Stasio, director of the Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization directorate within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy.
The guidance, released in January, helps the DOD prioritize workforce readiness, maintain the flexible acquisition of developed technologies and improve and protect its supply chain from adversaries.
In March 2023, President Joe Biden signed a directive authorizing an unlimited budget under the Defense Production Act to support the domestic printed circuit boards and advanced packaging industrial base. The DPA allows the president to develop, modernize and expand production capacity and supply through incentives, according to a presentation.
TTM joins other printed circuit board makers that have received DOD funds to support the agency. For example, Calumet Electronics Corp. received $39.9 million in November 2023 to scale engineering and manufacturing operations to establish domestic production capabilities for high-density build-up printed circuit boards at its Michigan facility.
