BLOOMINGTON, Minn., June 1, 2017 – SkyWater Technology Foundry announced that it has promoted Gregg Damminga to Vice President of Foundry Services. In his expanded role, Damminga will oversee the planning, production control and industrial engineering for all the company’s foundry customers.
Following the March 2017 acquisition of the Cypress Semiconductor Corp.’s 200mm semiconductor wafer manufacturing facility in Bloomington, Minn. by SkyWater, Damminga continued on to serve as Director of Foundry Engineering. In the role he held since 2006, Damminga and his team were responsible for developing novel silicon-based semiconductor, MEMs, superconducting and photonics processes for Cypress customers. Additionally, he was a principal driver behind the formation and expansion of the Cypress’ Specialty Foundry Business Unit — a key business growth area for the newly-formed SkyWater.
“The facilities’ specialty foundry capabilities are one of the key differentiators for SkyWater and offer a critical service for any company bringing new and innovative products to market,” said SkyWater CEO Gary Obermiller. “Gregg’s expertise and intimate knowledge of the facility and our team’s capabilities will be instrumental in growing our customer engagements and advancing the ‘Technology Foundry’ concept.”
According to Damminga, the concept of a Technology Foundry simplifies the realization of complex products by helping customers design, build, and scale wafer-based products leveraging the automation and sophistication of a full-scale semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem.
“The Technology Foundry concept is an exciting prospect and uniquely positions SkyWater to assist innovators bringing new products to market,” said Damminga. “In my new role, I embrace the prospect of bringing this concept and its promise of faster time-to-market to fruition for our customers in the Internet of Things, medical, photonics and superconducting industries.” A semiconductor chip veteran, Damminga has more than 30 years of experience within the industry. During his career, he has held individual contributor and management positions in Process Engineering and Development, Equipment Maintenance, Manufacturing, Planning and Production Control, Purchasing, Human Resources, and Training. He began his career at Texas Instruments before working at STMicroelectronics and TSMC before joining Cypress Semiconductor in 2006.
Damminga holds MS and BS degrees with highest distinction in Materials Science from Northwestern University. While at Northwestern, Damminga was a two year starter for the Wildcat football team and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors. A resident of Eagan, Minn., Damminga is also the co-owner with his wife Debbie of Twin Cites Barbell, a private gym specializing in Powerlifting.
About SkyWater Technology Foundry
SkyWater is a U.S.-based technology foundry specializing in the development and manufacturing of a wide variety of semiconductor based solutions. As a globally recognized, DMEA accredited Trusted facility with advanced development capabilities co-located with volume production, SkyWater has the ability and flexibility to innovate to any scale with a wide array of special materials. Our roots go back to the pioneers of computing technology and as such SkyWater offers what most foundries cannot: decades of technology innovation experience. Reach out to see how SkyWater can help revolutionize your product. To learn more, visit www.skywatertechnologyfoundry.com.
SkyWater Company Contact: Ross Miller | 952.851.5063 | ross.miller@skywatertechnology.com
SkyWater Media Contact: Lauri Julian | 949.280.5602 | lauri.julian@skywatertechnology.com