With companies like the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company building a new facility in Phoenix, the Valley is quickly turning into a global hub for microchip manufacturing, and Scottsdale will soon be part of that picture.
ASM, a global company founded in the Netherlands that makes machines that make semiconductor chips, announced plans in September 20024 to move its North American headquarters from Phoenix to Scottsdale, and that vision could be complete by early next year, according to a spokeswoman for the company.
The company tentatively plans to open the doors on its 400,000-square-foot building earmarked for administration and research and development uses sometime in the first quarter of 2027.
“As ASM’s largest R&D center worldwide, the new Scottsdale facility will serve as our U.S. flagship hub for innovation, bringing together our people, currently distributed across multiple Valley locations,” the company said in an unattributed statement to the Daily Independent.
“By uniting our scientists, engineers, and corporate support teams in a collaborative environment, we can accelerate our work in materials discovery and continue to drive the future of semiconductors. We are excited to strengthen ASM’s global innovation network from Arizona, where for more than 50 years our teams have been advancing materials science and helping turn breakthrough discoveries into the technologies that power the world.”
The company’s investment on the new facility at the corner of Mayo Boulevard and Miller Road is expected to exceed $500 million.
ASM currently has more than 1,100 employees in Arizona. The company had said in 2024 that it intends to add another 500 jobs in the future, but a spokeswoman for the company has since said that number could change.
The average salary for the new jobs was predicted in 2024 to be $110,000 annually.
“It’s a huge win for us,” said Scottsdale Economic Development and Tourism Director Kevin Burke, who hopes more microchip companies will follow suit and move to Scottsdale. “It’s not the tip of the iceberg because it will be pretty hard to match ASM in terms of a quality of a win, but it is indicative of what we are trying to accomplish here over the next.”
That’s why Burke, Mayor Lisa Borowsky and City Councilwoman Jan Dubauskas are flying to Taiwan Aug. 30 for the Semicon Taiwan exhibition in an effort to woo other semiconductor companies here.
To offset water use, ASM has purchased and given the city 600 acre feet, or 195 million gallons, of long-term water storage credits to cover the company’s water usage for the next 20 years.
ASM built the infrastructure around the new facility, for which the city has reimbursed it $6.4 million. City officials are hoping to get at least several million dollars for that reimbursed by the state, Burke said.
ASM also established a two-year partnership with the Scottsdale Unified School District to support and expand the Sisters in STEM program.
The partnership includes program sponsorship, STEM pathway support for students, and scholarship funding. Two scholarships have been awarded to date through the partnership.
Also, ASM participates in annual science, technology, engineering and math events held each September as part of its community engagement efforts. The initiative is designed to increase STEM education opportunities and strengthen ASM’s engagement with the local community.
ASM was founded in 1968, has a presence in 15 countries and has been in the Valley since 1976.
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J. Graber
News Editor | Scottsdale
jgraber@iniusa.org
Meet J.
Graber joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in February 2023, starting his career as a staff writer covering the City of Scottsdale and was named news editor of the Scottsdale Independent in 2024.
Community: He serves on the altar guild as well as being an usher at St. Mathews Episcopal Church in Chandler.
Education: He earned his BA in creative writing with a minor in journalism from the University of Arizona. He then earned an MS in Mass Communications from the University of Oregon.
Random Fact: He enjoys reading novels by Russian authors.
Hobbies: Playing classical guitar, reading, fishing, going to the gym, watching sports and spending time with his family.
