Sumitomo Chemical said it would set up a new company in Texas, through its South Korean unit Dongwoo Fine-Chem, to make high-purity process chemicals used in chip fabrication. Japanese press put the total investment, including room for later expansion, at about ¥30 billion. Operations were due to begin in fiscal 2024. What the plant makes The Baytown plant is meant to make ultra-high-purity isopropyl alcohol, used to clean wafers in advanced logic and memory chipmaking. Making it in Texas cuts the risk of shipping it across the world. The project was expected to create 43 manufacturing jobs and 250 construction jobs, and Sumika partnered with Lee College and San Jacinto College to train workers. Sumitomo's record Sumitomo Chemical began making high-purity cleaning chemicals for chips at its Chiba Works in 1978 and later expanded across Asia. It can remove impurities down to parts per trillion, and the Commerce Department called it the world's largest maker of high-purity chemicals for the chip industry.
