TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – A Terre Haute plant that was originally designed to manufacture CDs in the 1980s is continuing efforts to diversify with a new partnership that will take it into the semiconductor space.
Sony DADC on Tuesday announced a partnership with Terre Haute-based D&D Automation and KLA Corp. in California to manufacture specialized shipping canisters used to transport chip components.
KLA designs and manufactures components for the inspection of semiconductor chips during manufacturing, and D&D Automation is a vendor for KLA that makes the canisters.
Sony DADC said it became involved in the process because of its 110,000-square-foot cleanroom space, which it previously used to make CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays and video game discs.
KLA, through its partnership with D&D Automation, will use the space to assemble its shipping canisters.
“The canisters are machined from solid blocks of stainless steel and are precision-cleaned before assembly,” the company said in a news release. “Due to the sensitive nature of the components made by KLA, no particles, oils, or any other type of contaminant can be present on the canister. This necessitates an extremely clean environment for assembly.”
KLA is investing $200,000 in the new operation in Terre Haute. A spokesperson for Sony DADC said two full-time jobs are being added as a result.
The Terre Haute plant opened in 1983 and produced the first compact disc in North America and later over 23 billion CDs. It was the largest employer in the city with 2,000 workers.
However, due to a downturn in the demand for discs, the company laid off thousands of workers after 2010, with about 90% of its workforce gone in 10 years.
In recent years, the facility has begun courting other companies, especially in the medical device manufacturing space, because of its cleanroom capabilities.
Inside INdiana Business reporter Kylie Veleta spotlighted those efforts on a November 2023 edition of Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick.
