The quiet township making the stuff computer chips are made of

Here’s a fact that surprises people: one of the most strategically important factories in the United States sits among the farm fields of Thomas Township. Hemlock Semiconductor — named for the little community of Hemlock nearby — has been making polysilicon here since 1961, and today it’s the largest producer of high-purity polysilicon in the country and the only one headquartered in the U.S. Polysilicon is the refined, 99.999999999-percent-pure silicon that becomes computer chips and solar panels, and most of the world’s supply comes from just a handful of plants. One of them is here.

The company employs well over a thousand people, making it one of the Saginaw area’s biggest employers, and it has been growing: a $375 million “next generation” expansion broke ground in 2022 with state and federal backing, part of the national push to bring chip supply chains home. For Thomas Township, that means stable jobs and serious tax base wrapped in a low-key campus most people drive past without a second look — the kind of neighbor a township is lucky to have.