www.mybaycity.com
June 13, 2004
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Dow Corning Consolidates 3-State Operations Here, Sees New "Silicon Valley"
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Jean-Marc Gilson of Dow Corning Corporation's vice president and general manager for New Ventures Business addresses 'Bay City On The Go' development expo.
Jean-Marc Gilson, Dow Corning Corporation's vice president and general manager for the New Ventures Business, waved a glowing light-emitting diode that he indicated may illuminate the way for Bay County's future.
His brief comments were a highlight of the luncheon at Bay Area Chamber of Commerce "Bay City On The Go" development expo in the new DoubleTree Hotel - Bay City Riverfront last Wednesday. Mr. Gilson was introduced by Ann Lingle, president of National City Bank -Bay City.
The 500 plus luncheon guests perked up when Mr. Gilson noted "we are now the second largest silicon valley." (The first being, of course, the San Jose, California, area that is home to many high tech industries.)
Mr. Gilson's optimistic prediction may eventually prove true, with very positive economic implications for the area, if Dow Corning's expansion plans in Bay County are fulfilled.
The firm announced formation of a new business thrust in the semiconductor industry last September. The new venture, called Dow Corning Compound Semiconductor Solutions, LLC, combines operations from California, Connecticut and Florida.
The firm already has completed a $20 million expansion of its Eleven Mile Road plant and plans to add about 200 employees in that initiative. Dow Corning has about 3,000 employees at its corporate headquarters and five major manufacturing sites in the area.
The expanded plant will focus on production of silicon carbide semiconductor wafers and light-emitting diodes. The wafers are used in smaller electronic devices like hand-held computers and cell phones and the diodes in high brightness lighting and optical data storage in commercial and defense applications.
Perhaps the product with the highest potential is the blue laser diode that is expected to be used in all the next generation DVDs. The blue laser quadruples the amount of data that can be stored on a DVD because blue light has the shortest wavelength of visible light.
Gilson added: "We are very proud to say Bay County is our headquarters. This area is a tremendous environment of innovation. Our future in the area seems full of unlimited possibilities."
"Mr. Gilson is responsible for advancing and sustaining Dow Corning's growth in the chemicals marketplace," according to corporate sources. "In this role, he focuses the company's Research & Development efforts on high-potentialcommercial opportunities that can serve as growth engines for the company."
Dow Corning's new business will serve the wide band gap semiconductor industry. Basis of the business is expertise resulting from years of company and academic research, plus recent acquisitions of business and technology assets in bulk Silicon Carbide (SiC), SiC thin film technology, and Gallium Nitride (GaN) thin film technology.
"Dow Corning Compound Semiconductor Solutions is establishing this business to take full advantage of the synergies with our electronics, microelectronics and polycrystalline silicon materials businesses, and our state-of-the-art research photonics and electronics materials programs," corporate spokespersons said.
"We are very excited about the market potentials, and Dow Corning's future in this business," said Robert Johns, Global Director of Compound Semiconductor Solutions.
"We will be locating our business close to Dow Corning's critical mass of technical capabilities, research and development assets, and strong manufacturing disciplines. Consolidating our operations will give us synergies to accelerate our implementation, and achieve world-class quality material specifications and economies of scale," he said.
"Dow Corning will optimize its strong technical and market leadership positions in semiconductor grade polycrystalline silicon, integrated circuit fabrication materials technology, and packaging materials andservices to meet the needs of customers. We exist to help ensure SiC and GaN device manufacturers achieve success by partnering with them to provide capabilities and resources that no other supplier can offer," said Mr. Johns.
Dow Corning (www.dowcorning.com ) provides performance-enhancing solutions to serve the diverse needs of more than 25,000 customers worldwide. A global leader in silicon-based technology and innovation, offering more than 7,000 products and services, Dow Corning isequally owned by The Dow Chemical Company and Corning, Incorporated. More than half of Dow Corning's annual sales are outside the United States.
In 1989, Mr. Gilson joined Dow Corning as a process engineer, GLR unit development, in Seneffe, Belgium. In 1994, he became Treated Silica Program leader in Midland. He returned to Seneffe in 1995 to serve as core product business Process Engineering leader. In 1997, Mr. Gilson relocated to Midland to serve as Science and Technology director for the Fluids and Emulsions Business and as functional sponsor for the Commercialization Excellence and Front-End processes. In 1997, he was named Economic Evaluator and Planning Manager for Elastomers & Specialty Chemicals Business.
Mr. Gilson was named Global Science & Technology Director for Dow Corning's Fluids and Emulsions business in 1999. He also served as product-line manager for emulsions and antifoams, managing significant sales activity, and was a customer manager for a major personal/household care products company.
Mr. Gilson earned a master's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Liege, Belgium, and a master's degree in business administration from the Institute for Management Development in Switzerland.###
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