Finisar’s new plant, proposed as an expansion to the tech manufacturers’ current 76-acre site in Sherman, would produce wafers for semiconductor chips and create 700 jobs.
Finisar, a company that makes lasers for facial recognition technology in Apple’s iPhone, is considering Sherman for a new $3 billion semiconductor plant.
Finisar submitted an application this week to Sherman ISD seeking tax breaks, according to KXII. It’s now headed for the Texas comptroller’s desk.
The new plant, an expansion to its current 76-acre site, would produce wafers for semiconductor chips and create 700 jobs. The company could begin construction in 2025 and launch commercial operations in 2028, according to the application.
Per the city, the number of jobs could rise to 4,000.
“It shows how exciting our community is to the high-tech industry,” said Sherman ISD Superintendent Dr. Tyson Bennett told the Texoma news station.
If the company picks Sherman, it would get a ten-year property tax break based on an $80 million valuation per its Chapter 313 application. The Chapter 313 incentive, which is designed to attract new businesses, is slated to expire at the end of the year.
Finisar said it’s considering Sherman and three other sites for a semiconductor wafer fabrication facility. Finisar, which is part of Pennsylvania-based Coherent Corp, saying the North Texas city is competing with company-owned sites in Warren, N.J., Easton, Pa., and Newton Aycliffe in the United Kingdom, the Dallas Morning News reports.
Finisar was acquired by II-VI in 2019. II-VI completed the acquisition of laser-maker Coherent in July 2022, changing the corporate name for the combined company to Coherent Corp. in September. Apple invested $410 million in II-VI in 2021.
Sherman continues to grow its footprint as a hub for semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. In May, Texas Instruments broke ground on its 300-mm semiconductor wafer fabrication plants to be built in the city. The project is noted as the largest private sector economic development project in Texas history. The potential investment of $30 billion could create up to 3,000 jobs over time.
In June, Sherman beat out potential sites in Ohio and South Korea, for GlobiTech’s new $5 billion, 3.2 million-square-foot silicon wafer facility. The plant could eventually produce more than 1 million silicon wafers monthly when production begins by 2025. GlobiTech is a subsidiary of Taiwan-based GlobalWafers.
