Barack Obama applauds Applied Materials' innovation
The US president made the visit to the company's Austin facility as part of his focus on manufacturing jobs, high-tech skills and technology that will drive long-term economic growth
President Obama visited Applied Materials facilities in Austin, Texas on Thursday, May 9th.
The administration's announcement cited Applied Materials' contribution to innovation and job creation.
In his February State of the Union address, President Obama outlined a number of priorities that concern SEMI members. These included a focus on manufacturing, research and development, corporate tax reform, high-skilled immigration reform, solar energy and international trade. SEMI is working with administration officials, legislators and SEMI members to promote these, and other, policies beneficial to high-technology manufacturing.
Applied Materials is a global semiconductor equipment company and a long-time SEMI member with public policy, communications and technology staff that collaborate closely with other SEMI member companies to promote industry-wide competitiveness issues with legislators and policy makers in the U.S. and around the world.
Applied Material's 1.9 million square foot Austin facility represents the company's largest manufacturing facility and second-largest employee site. It is primarily dedicated to manufacturing advanced chip-making equipment and enabling rapid product commercialisation for the world's chip producers.
In his address, the President commented, " It is wonderful to be here at Applied Materials. I want to thank Mike and everybody who helped out hosting us and a wonderful tour of the facility. It was incredible. Rick was showing me some of your "clean rooms" where you are building the equipment that makes the chips that is basically powering everything that you guys are taking pictures with right now. Smartphones, computers, iPads, laptops. And it is just remarkable to see. Every time I walk through these kinds of facilities I'm thinking, this is just magic. I don't know how they do it."
He added, "Now, I've spent the day in Austin talking with folks about what we can do to reignite the true engine of America's economic growth - a thriving, rising middle class and a dynamic, cutting-edge economy. That's our priority. That should be Washington's top priority. And I see three things that we need to focus on to do it."
"Number one, we've got to make America a magnet for good jobs. Number two, we've got to help people earn the skills they need to do those jobs. Number three, we've got to make sure people's hard work is rewarded so that they can make a decent living doing those jobs."
"Think about how this company was built. Back in 1967, when Applied Materials was just getting off the ground, there were five employees. They worked out of this small industrial unit in California. And I suppose they had a "clean room" in there, but I don't know what it looked like. But what they lacked in size, they made up with ingenuity and imagination and risk-taking, " Obama continued.
"And over the years, as you grew to become a leader in high-tech manufacturing, that ingenuity never faltered. Whether you've been with this company for decades - as I know some of you have - or just for a year, you're all focused on the future. Every day you're pushing the limits of technology a little bit further," he added.
Last fall, Applied Materials celebrated its Austin facility's 20th anniversary and 20,000th system shipment. Between 125-500 chip-equipment systems are manufactured per quarter to serve Applied's global customer base.
"We are pleased to see the President of the United States visiting a global semiconductor equipment manufacturer to emphasize the role of manufacturing in our economy," said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI. "Manufacturing is an important economic multiplier that provides high-paying jobs and secondary jobs throughout the nation."
Nearly 500 companies in North America are SEMI members, including large multi-billion dollar enterprises such as Applied Materials as well as many small- and medium-sized companies that provide the enabling high-tech components, sub systems and materials to produce sophisticated machinery to manufacture micro- and nano-technology products such as integrated circuits, flat panel displays, LED lighting, photovoltaic systems, micro-electromechanical devices (MEMS) and other electronics.
According to an analysis of government data by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), the U.S. semiconductor industry supports more than one million American jobs including direct jobs and related jobs in other sectors.
SEMI maintains an office in Washington, D.C. and voice in the Nation's capital. SEMI public policy professionals work with member companies to garner support for a wide range of issues that affect industry. These include Presidential priorities like the Advanced Manufacturing Program and federal funding of basic research at the National Science Foundation (NSF) to immigration and corporate tax reform. SEMI works on very specific government issues such as educating policymakers on the impact of export controls and fighting for industry priorities on trade agreements.
SEMI members are frequently active participants in this industry representation. Accordingly, SEMI Americas hosts its annual Washington Forum event which brings SEMI industry executives to Washington for two days of meetings, events, and speakers to share the latest public policy priorities with government officials inside the beltway.
This year, 23 SEMI member executives and other participants took part the event in which they covered a wide variety of policy interests including, high-skilled immigration reform, intellectual property, solar PV, and federal R&D investments in a total of over two dozen meetings, including meetings with White House staff.
