People And Stories: Ambitious Growth in the US

Exyte contributes to the renaissance of US chip manufacturing by delivering high-tech facilities for top-tier clients in the industry. As a result, the company is experiencing significant growth in the USA.

The USA, a historical powerhouse for the semiconductor industry, has over the last several years become reliant on offshore manufacturing. Passed in 2022, the CHIPS and Science Act aims to incentivize semiconductor companies to again invest in domestic USA manufacturing and research. This initiative means the US semiconductor industry is set for significant growth.

Following clients across the world

Andrew Whitworth, a USA based Business Development Leader, first joined Exyte in 2012 and has contributed to various projects across all the company’s business fields. “I have always been excited to follow our clients around the world. Continuous collaboration with high-tech companies sets Exyte apart and lets us keep the upper edge on our capabilities,” Whitworth says.

With all this growth potential, Whitworth also sees challenges both for the industry and Exyte. With a multitude of US semiconductor companies simultaneously investing both in R&D and production facilities, all industry players will have difficulties in sourcing personnel. To meet its own labor demand, Exyte is engaged in various initiatives: partnerships with third level education institutions, temporary in-house labor support from projects in other countries, bringing back experienced workers from retirement, and through strategic acquisitions.

All services under one roof

Strategic acquisitions do not only help with manpower, but they also expand Exyte’s portfolio of products and services. “Our recent acquisitions of specialists for gases and abatement systems, or corrosive fume exhaust duct systems – to only name a few – distinguish us from others in the industry. Not many of our competitors have all these products and services under one roof,” Whitworth elaborates.

Next to being an expert on creating controlled environments, such as cleanrooms, Exyte has also leapt forward in its implementation of off-site manufacturing (OSM), a key element of project execution demanded by clients and necessitated by trade labor shortages. The advantages: By constructing portions of a project offsite in a warehouse or an assembly yard, the company can ensure those scopes of work are created in a controlled environment unaffected by weather, by potential delay impacts from other areas of a project, local labor shortages or space constraints.

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Benefiting the local Community

Another part of Exyte’s culture is to make a positive impact on the local communities where the project sites are located. Chelsea Miller is a Community Engagement Manager at a large Exyte semiconductor project in the Pacific Northwest. From start to finish the project will take almost a decade to complete, create 2,000 jobs in the operating facility, and create greater than 5,000 jobs in various roles needed for the delivery.

Overall, local residents are positive about their city being chosen for the project and see the opportunities it brings for local businesses. However, concerns and voices from within the community can be raised via several local groups and channels. However, concerns and voices from within the community can be raised via several local groups and channels. Exyte and its client take the feedback and proactively engage with the local community to find the right solutions. “For us, it’s about building trust, by showing how we are committed to have a positive impact on the city,” Miller tells.

“We, as the engineering and construction manager, acknowledge that the construction workers that are coming into the area will have impacts on the community. That’s why we want to make a lasting positive impact and we want everyone in the community to firstly understand and then feel really good about what is being created,” Miller elaborates. For her, this means being in regular exchange with all stakeholders, such as the client and its community engagement team, city officials, local businesses and other interest groups.

With the work picking up speed, Exyte employees have already become a part of the local community themselves, Miller believes. “Our workers feel engaged and connected to the city they live in, and that’s something we want to foster. We want our workers to try out all the restaurants, to take part in local activities, be active in the community, and make a positive lasting impact – just like our company does.”