A Syracuse-based company is trying to gear up its workforce to meet one of Micron’s critical infrastructure needs. LeChase Constuction Services hosted a training session Wednesday on clean rooms and clean manufacturing.
Onondaga County will soon be a leader in the nation’s semiconductor chip manufacturing. This means it’s essential that the region be equipped with experts and technology that can manufacture and maintain clean rooms. LeChase has been building them for various clients over the past 30 years. Senior vice president Lee Sommerman, says it’s more important than ever that his employees are well informed on clean rooms.
“Not only is the technology of constructing and running a clean room changing but the needs of our clients whether it’s in pharmaceuticals, locally here a microchip plant, as an example," Sommerman said. "The specific needs of those clients keep changing, and they want to have new creative ways to do what they do in research and development. So we have to adapt.”
Clean rooms are a controlled environment where air particulates are monitored and kept at very low levels. Roger Zaccour is a clean room specialist with Stark Tech, one of the suppliers of clean room equipment. He says they have to control every possible impact on air quality in order to keep out tiny particles.
“There’s a high level of supply of air, treatment of air, humidity control, filtration, gowning, you see the monkey suits that people wear in the clean room," Zaccour said. "So all of that is all part of the execution in the clean room."
Both Zaccour and Sommerman say they’re involved with workforce development opportunities across the state to continue to grow the pool of workers needed to secure products and build the clean rooms. LeChase has already delivered 75 clean rooms to clients ranging from start ups to Fortune 100 companies.
