CASE STUDY  APPLIED MATERIALS

Founded in 1967 and based in Santa Clara, Applied Materials (Applied) builds nanomanufacturing equipment, machines, and tools for the global semiconductor, flat panel display, and solar photovoltaic cell manufacturing industries. “Nanomanufacturing” is the production of ultra-small structures, including the engineering of thin films on substrates. Applied’s customers include manufacturers of semiconductor wafers and chips, flat panel displays, solar photovoltaic cells and modules (solar PVs), and other electronic devices. The company employs 14,824 individuals world-wide of which 5,320 are located in California. This proposal targets Applied’s California workers employed in Sunnyvale and Santa Clara.

To date, Applied’s core business has been delivering nanotechnology-based solutions, equipment, software, and service to the integrated circuit (IC) fabrication industry. According to company representatives, virtually every semiconductor IC made in the world is processed by at least one and often dozens or hundreds of Applied’s tools. In 2006, Applied entered the solar PV cell fabrication market to utilize its technology to lower the overall cost per watt of solar electricity to parity with that of electricity generated by other sources such as the burning of fossil fuels. New technology and processes are continuing to evolve in 2010 to change the cost equation for solar power through adaptation of Applied’s expertise in manufacturing technology.

The proposed training is designed to address the skill gap between employees in Applied’s current California workforce and the skills required to design, develop, integrate, and manufacture technologies for green/clean energy markets. Rather than downsizing and outsourcing California-based jobs, the proposed training will assist Applied to retool its existing California workforce by building new knowledge relative to green/clean energy manufacturing equipment. All training will focus on a variety of new technologies to enhance product innovations and provide manufacturing solutions for the next generations of clean/green technologies. This will enable Applied Materials to compete for new customers on a global basis.

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