Texas Cuts $3.9 Million Check To Georgetown Chip Supplier In Chip Corridor Arms Race

Texas is putting more money on the table in the semiconductor scramble, with Governor Greg Abbott announcing a $3.9 million state award to Schunk Xycarb Technology on Thursday as the company gears up to expand its Georgetown plant. State officials say the move will support more than $42 million in capital spending and create about 25 new jobs in the Austin-area manufacturing corridor. The Georgetown site produces high-precision quartz, ceramic, and silicon-carbide-coated graphite parts that go inside chip fabs, and the expansion is expected to boost cleanroom and automation capacity as part of a broader push to build more of the semiconductor supply chain in Texas.

According to the Governor Abbott Press Office, the $3.9 million award comes from the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund (TSIF) and will directly support Schunk Xycarb’s Georgetown expansion. The office says the project represents more than $42 million in capital investment and is expected to create 25 new jobs. The release highlights plans to increase production, add cleanroom and automation capacity, and grow the company’s footprint in Williamson County.

Schunk Xycarb is a microelectronics unit of the Schunk Group that supplies silicon-carbide-coated graphite, quartz and ceramic components for wafer processing and other chip-making tools. Schunk Xycarb Technology lists the Georgetown site as its U.S. production center and notes that its parts are used across epitaxy, etch and deposition equipment.

Expansion Plans And Local Footprint

Architectural plans for the project call for renovating roughly 34,000 square feet of existing space and adding about 23,500 square feet, creating a roughly 57,500-square-foot facility once work is complete. Studio8 Architects, which lists the job in its portfolio, says the buildout will be phased so production can continue during construction. Local permitting and environmental filings place the plant’s address inside Georgetown city limits, and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality records identify Schunk Xycarb as the regulated entity at the site.

Why The State Is Investing

The TSIF is the state program behind the award. A public listing of TSIF projects assembled by the governor’s office shows the fund has offered hundreds of millions of dollars in awards to semiconductor companies, research centers and training programs across Texas. The Office of the Governor frames the fund as a tool to scale workforce, cleanroom and fabrication capacity in support of federal CHIPS-era investments. Schunk’s microelectronics portfolio and the company’s role in supplying quartz and silicon-carbide parts to fabs are detailed on its site, where Schunk Xycarb Technology lists the Georgetown location as its U.S. production center.

Local Reaction

“This expansion brings high-quality jobs, long-term investments, and stronger domestic production capabilities,” state Sen. Charles Schwertner said in the governor’s announcement. The governor’s office framed the project as a win for the region’s manufacturing base and another piece of Texas’ ongoing effort to onshore more semiconductor manufacturing and materials production.

Project filings and the state award together make the Georgetown expansion one of several TSIF-backed investments reshaping Central Texas’ advanced-manufacturing footprint. Local officials and the company say the move will help shore up supplies for foundries and toolmakers that are expanding across the state, while design materials emphasize keeping the plant operational during construction. Hoodline will monitor permitting and hiring as the project moves forward.