Montana major player in semiconductor business

I talk too much about manufacturing in Montana. But how can I possibly stop? 

Consider this. Given all the semiconductor buzz of late, people tend to be amazed when I tell them Montana has been a major player in that space for 20 years! They can’t believe it.

They shouldn’t believe it. 

It’s a lie. 

Montana’s been a major player in semiconductor for over 40 years!! 

I know! You had no idea. 

Well, it’s time to shake ourselves awake, 406. 

Among the beautiful vistas of snowcapped ranges, meandering rivers, stunning herds of elk, and all the growing tourist traffic that makes it harder to get to all those things —threaded quietly through it all — is a superpower. A profound and potent economic wonder which the vast majority of us simply do not know is there. 

We cannot call it anything other than a world-class manufacturing powerhouse. Compact, yes. Potent, nonetheless. 

Not sure? Try me. 

I already talked semiconductor. You probably know by now that one of the world’s largest semiconductor equipment manufacturers operates here, having expanded its footprint multiple times. Did you know there’s a SECOND semiconductor equipment maker here? You probably did not. Did you know this other one is HEADQUARTERED here? You probably did not. 

Or did you know that SpaceX sends critical parts for its rockets to Montana for the precision machining that helps enable their prolific launch and relaunch schedule? You probably did not — and so you also didn’t know that Blue Origin does the same. And so you wouldn’t know why they do it. 

And the reason really comes down to: Montana has the chops to get it right. 

I guess you don’t know much about precision, high-vacuum tech. You shouldn’t — we’re not talking spring cleaning; we’re talking the kind of vacuum that enables technologies from semiconductor (there it is again) to aerospace to quantum computing. Is this also done in Montana? 

Yeah. Yep. 

Industry leader VACOM, a German company, chose Montana — Lewistown, to be exact —for its U.S. headquarters. 

I say again: Montana has the chops. 

And the list goes on. We haven’t even touched on the eruption of photonics and quantum computing companies forming in Bozeman around Montana State University. Or that this growing cluster helped earn Montana one of just 33 federal Tech Hub designations. 

It’s time to let the secret out. 

Montana makes modern wonders. I know. You had no idea.

John Ghekiere is the principal at TechSovereign Partners.