Posted on 04/05/2005 9:48:00 AM PDT by somniferum
A push by Mississippi State and local economic development officials to tie in university research efforts into commercial opportunities paid off Monday with the announcement that a Pennsylvania company will partner with a local firm in developing silocon carbide applications for military and electronics markets.
II-VI Inc. of Saxonburg, Pa. is partnering with SemiSouth Laboratories, which operates in the Ralph E. Powe Center for Innovative Technology in the Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park.
SemiSouth's development as a company out of research conducted at MSU proved to be a major incentive in luring II-VI (pronounced "two-six") to Starkville, said II-VI Founder and CEO Carl Johnson said.
"Mississippi State is at the forefront of identifying leading-edge technologies and their potential for business development," Johnson said. "We believe that close collaboration with SemiSouth will enable both companies to make rapid progress in technology development and ultimately will lead to a more efficient and effective manufacturing process."
Plans call for II-VI to begin operation in the Powe Center by December with 15 to 20 employees, with plans for construction a manufacturing facility in the research park's expanded area over three years. That should create an additional 100 jobs, with plans for more depending on market conditions.
SemiSouth, which has 32 employees, plans to add about 15 or 20 positions with the collaboration, SemiSouth President Jeff Casady said. He said the company hopes to expand its work force by as many as 125 high-skilled, high-tech jobs.
Silicon carbide, or SiC, is a semiconductor used in electronics, often in inhospitable conditions such as in high-voltage or high-temperature applications.
(Excerpt) Read more at starkvilledailynews.com ...
Can I get a Mississippi ping on this?
They can perhaps siphon off talent from Benchmark and Sanmina-SCI. There are some good engineers at both. Many are in Alabama, some are in Mississippi and Georgia, IIRC.
Missippy ping
Ok who really won the civil war??
Given Mississippi's recent past, I wonder how much we bribed them to set up shot here.
I meant "set up shop here." lol
Cool news. Anything more about Southern Miss partnering with a nanotech firm and locating down on the Gulf Coast? I seem to remember reading about something like that last year.
As a PA resident, I ask, why the hell didn't they stay in PA?!
My educated guess would be because of the vastly cheaper cost of labor down here.
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