Hemlock Semiconductor Seeking Construction Contractors for Clarksville Polysilicon Manufacturing Plant

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation (Hemlock, Michigan), a joint venture between Dow Corning Corporation (Midland, Michigan) (63.25%), ShinEtsu Chemical Company Limited (Tokyo, Japan) (24.5%) and Mitsubishi Materials Corporation (Tokyo, Japan) (12.25%), indicates that site preparation is well under way for its $1.2 billion grassroot polysilicon manufacturing plant in Clarksville, Tennessee. The plant initially will produce 10,000 metric tons per year of polysilicon, and with an additional $1 billion, the company plans to expand production to 21,000 metric tons per year. Dow Corning is a joint venture between The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) (Midland, Michigan) and Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) (Corning, New York).

Plateau Excavation Incorporated (Austell, Georgia), the awarded excavation contractor, is performing site preparation and expects to finish by the end of fall. DBS & Associates Engineering Incorporated (Clarksville, Tennessee) is the plant's design engineer, and SSOE Incorporated (Midland, Michigan) is the process design engineer. The company anticipates about 400 individual contracts will be awarded to execute the construction of the polysilicon manufacturing plant. With an employee count of about 500, Hemlock expects the plant to be operational by late 2012 with phase II construction to follow.

Offering cheap electricity and over $75 million in tax incentives, Tennessee also attracted Wacker Chemie AG (ETR:WCH) (Munich, Germany) to purchase a 550-acre site near the Hiwassee River Industrial Park in Charleston, Tennessee. The company plans to construct a $1 billion grassroot polysilicon manufacturing plant for usage in electronics and solar panels. With an estimated capacity of 10,000 metric tons per year, the plant is expected to be operational by the fall of 2012.

Polysilicon is the raw material from which solar cells and silicon wafers are manufactured. With the growth in today's market for renewable energy, the product is a hot commodity. With the high demand for polysilicon, Hemlock Semiconductor is also undergoing construction at its Hemlock, Michigan, site for the second phase of a $1 billion expansion to increase the plant's total production capacity from 19,000 metric tons per year to 36,000 metric tons per year by the second half of 2010.

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