Preventing downtime starts before a semiconductor fab starts operating
The semiconductor industry’s race to add capacity will continue as AI and other advanced technologies increase chip demand. But adding capacity is only part of the equation. The goal is not simply to open a fab faster; it is to build one that can keep running uninterrupted.
By Timothy McDonough, Sherwin-Williams Construction Solutions Executive
Hyperscale AI data centers are rapidly expanding, driving extraordinary demand for the advanced semiconductor chips needed to train and deploy increasingly sophisticated models. As AI workloads expand, more servers are required, increasing demand for semiconductor chips. This places unprecedented pressure on the semiconductor industry to keep pace.
Available manufacturing capacity is struggling to keep up. According to a May 2026 report from the Center for a New American Security, capital expenditures (CapEx) for companies purchasing AI chips has grown exponentially faster than CapEx for companies producing AI chips. As of November 2025, demand for these chips was running at roughly three times the production output of the world’s top manufacturers. This limit in chip supply chain is expected to remain through the end of 2026, at minimum.
With chip capacity already constrained by the increased demand, bringing new fabs online is only part of the challenge. Semiconductor facilities must maximize the availability of the capacity of their existing facilities. Unplanned maintenance, repairs or other disruptions can take production capacity offline in an environment where every hour of downtime matters, making reliability and continuous operation critical to both the individual fab performance and the industry’s ability to close the broader supply gap.
Closing that gap will require new fabrication plants and the expansion of existing facilities. Major investments are already underway. Samsung and SK Hynix are investing more than $500 billion in new chip manufacturing facilities worldwide. Intel and TSMC have planned expansions of their US manufacturing capacity, investing more than $100 billion and $265 billion, respectively. But advanced fabs can take two to four years, and sometimes longer, to construct because of the scale, coordination and technical precision required.
The pressure is not only to build fabs faster. It is to build facilities that can operate continuously once production begins. Protective coatings are often an afterthought or an overlooked part of that equation. When planned early, the right coatings strategy can simplify construction, reduce rework and extend life cycle by protecting critical infrastructure against chemicals, corrosion and wear that can lead to premature maintenance and operation disruptions over time.
Right-size the coating systems
Semiconductor fabs use a wide range of acids, bases, solvents and specialty chemistries during silicon wafer production. Because the chemicals and exposure conditions vary across fabs and production areas, selecting chemical resistant coatings, or CRCs, can quickly become complicated.
That complexity often leads to one of two outcomes: an over-engineered system that adds unnecessary cost and construction steps or an under-engineered system that leaves steel, concrete and other substrates vulnerable to deterioration and premature failure.
More protection is not automatically better. The goal is to specify the right system for the actual demands of the environment. That means evaluating the chemicals in use, their concentrations and potential contact time, along with moisture, temperature, traffic, ultraviolet exposure and static-control requirements.
Those conditions can vary significantly across a fab, from secondary containment areas and chemical storage spaces to utility infrastructure, process-support steel, floors and wastewater systems. Understanding what each asset will encounter allows teams to match the level of protection to the actual exposure rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach across the facility.
Defining those conditions early allows project teams to develop application-specific systems instead of relying on broad assumptions. A clear and repeatable selection process can simplify specifications across the fab, reduce late-stage changes and create a scalable approach for future expansions. Just as importantly, it can help reduce premature coating failures that may require repairs or maintenance around active production areas later.
Move work off-site
Another way protective coatings can support schedule certainty and reduce construction risk is to shift appropriate scopes away from the jobsite. With shop application, coatings are applied to steel, pre-cast concrete or other components in a controlled environment before they arrive on-site.
This approach reduces weather-related delays and provides greater control over surface preparation, application conditions and quality assurance. It also requires fewer crew members and less equipment on-site, helping improve safety and reducing congestion among specialized trades.
These shopcoated components can arrive ready for installation and touch-up, allowing fabrication, coating and site preparation to progress at the same time. Creating these parallel workstreams simplifies sequencing and limits the bottlenecks that can slow a megaproject.
The coating system must be specified to withstand loading, transportation, erection and weather exposure. When those requirements are addressed correctly, shop-applied coatings can support faster construction while delivering durable asset protection. This doesn’t just apply at initial construction, it also is relevant for future expansions. reducing on-site coating activities can also help owners add capacity without limiting work around active production environments.
Plan for uptime early
Coating decisions are often treated as a finishing detail and pushed later in the project. By then, the construction sequence, procurement plan and access requirements may have already been established. Any mismatch between the coating specification and the broader build plan can create delays, add change orders and rework during construction, or leave owners with systems that are more difficult to maintain once the fab is operating.
Early collaboration helps prevent those problems. A knowledgeable coatings partner can work with owners, architects, engineers, general contractors and fabricators to align system selection with fabrication, delivery, installation, cure windows and inspection requirements, while also considering how those systems will be maintained, repaired or expanded once the facility is operational.
That partner should provide more than products. Support may include specification development, application guidance, contractor training, field services and more. The value is in identifying potential roadblocks before they affect the schedule as well as helping teams make faster, more informed decisions if and when conditions change.
Establishing a repeatable coating strategy during the initial build also provides a stronger foundation for maintenance, expansions and fast return-to-service work later. Owners and maintenance teams have a clearer understanding of which systems protect specific assets, the conditions those systems were designed to withstand and how they should be maintained or repaired over time. When an expansion or maintenance event occurs, teams are not starting the coating-selection process from scratch, simplifying repairs and returning affected areas to service faster.
Build fast, operate continuously
The semiconductor industry’s race to add capacity will continue as AI and other advanced technologies increase chip demand. But adding capacity is only part of the equation. The goal is not simply to open a fab faster; it is to build one that can keep running uninterrupted.
Once production begins, coating performance becomes an uptime consideration. Chemical exposure, moisture, corrosion and everyday wear can degrade steel, concrete and other critical infrastructure over time. When deterioration requires repair or maintenance in an operating fab, the work can create disruption around active production lines, which can cause quality issues or other financial impacts. Properly specified coating systems can help reduce that risk by protecting assets against the
conditions that cause premature deterioration and minimize the likelihood of unplanned repair or rework. And when maintenance is eventually required, a well-planned coating system can support faster return to service.
Right-sized CRC systems, shop-applied coatings and early collaboration can turn coatings from a late-stage specification into a tool for schedule certainty, asset reliability and long-term operational performance. In semiconductor manufacturing, protecting uptime begins long before the first wafer is processed.
