STARKVILLE — With the infusion of $30 million from a California-based clean technology company, Starkville”s SemiSouth Laboratories plans to expand and bring more than 70 new jobs to the Golden Triangle.
SemiSouth employs 74 people at its Silicon-Carbide semiconductor facility in the Thad Cochran Technology, Research and Economic Development Park at Mississippi State University. Over the next 18 months, SemiSouth hopes to use the $30 million pledged Friday by Power Integrations of San Jose, Calif. to double its workforce and expand production, SemiSouth President and Chief Executive Officer Kenney Roberts said Friday after the two companies announced the joint business venture.
SemiSouth currently shares the Powe Innovative Technology Center at MSU with II-VI Inc., a company which specializes in engineered materials and components, but II-VI Inc. will move to another building and free up space in the Powe building for the expansion of SemiSouth, Roberts said.
SemiSouth has received $30 million in federal funding, $14 million in “angel funding,” or start-up funding, and $30 million pledged Friday as “mezzanine funding,” which is the final funding the company will need to become profitable, Roberts said.
“We”re just glad to have to Power Integrations as part of the Mississippi high-tech community,” Roberts said.
Gov. Haley Barbour and Third District Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Miss., were on hand for the ceremony Friday at SemiSouth to announce the partnership. Both commended SemiSouth, which was founded at Mississippi State by Dr. Jeff Casaday and Dr. Mike Mazzola, for contributing to the technology corridor between Starkville and Tuscaloosa, Ala.
“This is a great example of going from research to development to application to commercialization,” Barbour said. “My hat is off to both of you (Casaday and Mazzola).”
“There is no question in my mind as we look down the road, and not very far down the road, we are going to see explosive growth,” Barbour added. “We”re going to see this company go from being a trend-setter with one great technology to one with many great technologies and a wide number of applications. This is great for Mississippi.”
Harper shared similar sentiments.
“As demand for high-power, high-efficiency power devices continues to grow, I”m confident that SemiSouth will lead that charge and meet those demands,” Harper said.
MSU President Mark Keenum for years has stressed the importance of research at the university level and said Friday he was pleased to see a company with MSU roots continue to grow.
“We”re very proud of SemiSouth,” Keenum said. “What we see here today is an outstanding opportunity for growth and development. The new collaboration between SemiSouth and a company with a stature and reach of Power Integrations tells the world that the research and entrepreneurship at Mississippi State represents world-class innovation and high-tech commercialization.”
Jon Maynard, president and CEO of the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, commended SemiSouth for bringing more jobs to the Golden Triangle and improving the area”s reputation for technological advancement.
“This is obviously fantastic,” Maynard said. “This is a local company that was grown and had technology developed at the university, and it”s growing here in the Golden Triangle. Having a capital injection from the company in California is tremendous. It means we”re getting national notice of what we”re doing here. It means we”re able to expand our technology base here in Starkville. SemiSouth is obviously doing some things that are positive and right.”
Power Integrations is the leading supplier of high-voltage integrated circuits used in energy-efficient power conversion. SemiSouth, formed in 2000, focuses on Silicon-Carbide power devices and electronics.
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