TOLEDO, Ohio, March 31, 2025 – SSOE Group (www.ssoe.com), an architecture and engineering firm, is attending and exhibiting at the inaugural SEMIEXPO Heartland conference April 1-2, 2025. This new annual event will take place at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis and feature a conference program highlighting the latest developments in smart manufacturing and smart mobility—bringing together leaders from both areas to explore strategies for collaboration and innovation in this thriving hub for semiconductor manufacturing.
Clem Wood, Principal, Senior Vice President of Emerging Markets, who possesses extensive experience in semiconductor technology and tool installation program management, will travel from SSOE’s Portland, Oregon, office for the event. Wood, a semiconductor industry mainstay since the late 1980s, has planned layout evaluations including utility and space planning needs for countless fab expansions and has been instrumental in the design of more than 5,000 First-of-a-Kind tools.
Accompanying him will be Mark Smith, Data / Fire / Security Technology Leader, who will make the trip from SSOE’s world headquarters in Toledo, Ohio. Smith was at the center of the dot-com bubble in the 1990s, traveling from Michigan to California during the semiconductor chip boom. Both Wood and Smith will represent SSOE at Booth #600, alongside co-exhibitors Team Industries, Ihara Science, and SemiTorr Group. Collectively, the foursome exemplifies collaborative excellence in semiconductor design, supply, and fabrication for off-site manufacturing project execution.
The Midwest’s Semiconductor Surge
SEMI is a global industry association comprised of companies involved in the electronics design and manufacturing supply chain for which SSOE has been a member for more than a decade. Known for its popular events like SEMICON, it brings its presence to the Midwest this year as the region rapidly emerges as a key player in the semiconductor industry, driven by a deep understanding of the region’s unique semiconductor landscape.
SSOE has long been a market leader in key hubs across the U.S., ranked a Top 2 Semiconductor Design Firm for the past eight years (Engineering News-Record). The firm offers clients an extensive team of highly skilled project professionals with a deep and narrow understanding of Foreign Direct Investment, global technology onshoring, and a commanding U.S. market presence. SSOE’s experience supports the firm’s ability to guide clients through the complexities of onshoring, adeptly navigating incentive uncertainties, and seamlessly localizing operations.
The Midwest, known for its strong industrial foundation, is home to a growing network of advanced manufacturing hubs and R&D centers helping to shape the future of semiconductor technology. With its concentration of key end markets like automotive electronics and smart manufacturing, the region plays a pivotal role in driving demand and innovation in the semiconductor sector.
Wood commented on this surge, stating, “With 40 years of semiconductor industry experience and multiple office locations across the Midwest, SSOE is strategically positioned to support the region’s growing semiconductor and manufacturing industry. We’ve been headquartered in the Midwest for more than 75 years and have offices from coast to coast along with locations in India and Mexico to supplement as needed.”
Wood continued, sharing the firm’s full-scale capabilities, “From site evaluation to new fabrication facilities or small facility upgrades to full fab retrofits requiring the installation of thousands of process tools, SSOE assists high-tech clients in addressing today’s demanding, time-sensitive, and ever-changing facility challenges. This ensures faster, better, and most cost-effective facility time to market for the owner. We’re excited to be at SEMI Heartland, exhibiting alongside our partners and friends, ready and able to support the market here or wherever it takes us.”
