McMinnville Positioned for What's Next in Oregon's Semiconductor Economy

Sep 14, 2026

MEDP’s long-term connection with Oregon State University and the FAST initiative reflects McMinnville’s commitment to workforce, innovation, and being ready for what comes next.

When Oregon State University and nearly 100 partners were selected in July 2026 for a National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engine award to advance semiconductor technology and innovation in Oregon, it marked an important milestone for the state—and an opportunity worth watching closely here in McMinnville, Oregon.

The Frontiers of Advanced Semiconductor Technology (FAST) initiative is designed to strengthen Oregon’s semiconductor ecosystem through research and innovation, workforce development, economic growth and regional coordination. The initiative connects higher education, industry, government, nonprofits and other partners around opportunities ranging from AI-enabled semiconductor design and manufacturing to advanced packaging, metrology and workforce development.

For the McMinnville Economic Development Partnership (MEDP), this is not a new conversation.

A relationship that started before FAST

MEDP’s connection to Oregon State University and this emerging technology ecosystem goes back to the Oregon Leadership Summit in December 2022, which led to a meeting with OSU President Jayathi Murthy’s leadership team in August 2023.

Those early conversations helped establish relationships that would become increasingly relevant as OSU and its partners developed the FAST proposal.

In 2024, MEDP was invited to participate in the FAST effort as the consortium began developing its proposal to the National Science Foundation. FAST's public timeline shows the consortium holding stakeholder workshops in 2023 and 2024 and submitting its initial proposal to NSF in August 2024.

In January 2025, MEDP formally committed as a key Stakeholder Partner in the FAST proposal. Executive Director Patty Herzog signed MEDP’s Letter of Commitment, outlining the organization’s planned contributions in regional coordination, connecting businesses to semiconductor supply chains, marketing and investment attraction, workforce development, and exploring land-development opportunities for FAST-related companies.

The commitment also identified internships, apprenticeships, and K–12 engagement as areas where MEDP and regional partners could contribute.

Today, as FAST moves into implementation, Herzog continues to participate in conversations with OSU and consortium partners about the initiative’s next steps and regional reach.

For MEDP, the role is not about claiming ownership of the FAST initiative. It is about being connected, contributing a McMinnville perspective, and helping identify where local businesses, workforce, students, and future development opportunities can connect to a much larger regional ecosystem.

A regional opportunity

During the proposal-development process, the FAST team is considering a region of service that included Yamhill, Lane, Benton, Marion, Linn and Polk counties.

That regional approach is significant for McMinnville.

The community is positioned between two important centers of Oregon’s technology and research economy: Oregon State University and the Corvallis area to the south, and the Portland/Hillsboro technology corridor to the north.

Today, FAST's broader statewide partnership includes nearly 100 organizations, with the initiative connecting research universities, community colleges, industry, government agencies, economic development organizations and community partners.

McMinnville does not need to replicate Corvallis or Hillsboro to participate in that ecosystem.

Instead, the opportunity is to build on what already exists here—specialized manufacturing, technology, aviation, research, workforce development, entrepreneurship and available land—while strengthening connections to research institutions, companies, suppliers and talent throughout the region.

That is particularly relevant to the semiconductor sector, where the ecosystem extends well beyond companies that manufacture chips.

Semiconductor manufacturing relies on a broad network of specialized suppliers, equipment manufacturers, precision machining, materials, electronics, testing and measurement, research and development, logistics and highly skilled workers.

Those are places where McMinnville already has connections.

Advanced technology is already part of McMinnville’s story

McMinnville's connection to the semiconductor ecosystem isn't one-dimensional. The community is home to businesses working in different areas that intersect with advanced manufacturing, technology and the broader semiconductor supply chain.

One example is Applied Physics Technologies (APT), a McMinnville company whose work illustrates the highly specialized technology side of the ecosystem.

APT develops and manufactures electron sources and cathodes used in electron microscopy and other advanced applications. Its products serve sophisticated capital equipment used in semiconductor and life-science industries, making the company an example of the specialized technology and precision manufacturing capabilities already present in McMinnville.

APT’s story is also distinctly McMinnville: a company that grew from local research (Linfield University) and has developed highly specialized products serving customers around the world.

Another example is Chameleon Industries (now part of Veolia), which operates in McMinnville's industrial district and represents a very different connection to the semiconductor sector. The company developed specialty chemical and circular-economy solutions that recover byproducts from semiconductor manufacturing for beneficial reuse. In 2025, Veolia completed its acquisition of Chameleon, expanding its environmental services for advanced manufacturing and technology companies across North America.

Together, these companies illustrate why the semiconductor opportunity is bigger than semiconductor fabrication itself.

Electron sources. Specialty chemicals. Precision manufacturing. Environmental and resource recovery. Testing and measurement. Research and development.

These are the kinds of specialized businesses and capabilities that form the broader ecosystem supporting semiconductor and advanced technology industries.

It demonstrates that advanced technology and precision manufacturing are not new concepts for McMinnville.

For McMinnville, the opportunity is not necessarily to become a semiconductor manufacturing center itself. It is to recognize the adjacent industries and specialized businesses already here, strengthen those connections, and be positioned to welcome additional companies that may fit within the growing regional supply chain.

The opportunity now is to strengthen the connections between businesses like these and the larger regional ecosystem.

Building the workforce before the jobs arrive

Technology and infrastructure are only part of the equation.

A growing advanced manufacturing and semiconductor ecosystem will require people with technical, engineering, manufacturing and problem-solving skills. That makes workforce development an important part of MEDP’s connection to FAST.

Through WIN – Workforce Integration Network, MEDP brings together employers, educators, and workforce partners to identify challenges and create practical connections across Yamhill County.

That work includes creating opportunities for students to see manufacturing and technical careers firsthand.

The Yamhill County Student Manufacturing Experience, for example, connects students and educators with local manufacturers through industry tours and hands-on experiences. Other MEDP initiatives—including internships, apprenticeships, career connections, and employer partnerships -- help build pathways between education and employment.

Importantly, workforce development was part of MEDP’s formal FAST commitment from the beginning. The organization identified internships, apprenticeships and K–12 engagement as areas where it could contribute.

The goal is not simply to attract jobs. It is to help make sure people are prepared to take advantage of them.

Preparing the ground for future investment

The other essential piece is physical capacity.

That is where McMinnville Landing enters the conversation.

The approximately 190-acre site along Highway 18, between the McMinnville Municipal Airport and Willamette Valley Medical Center, represents one of McMinnville’s most significant opportunities for future employment and innovation-oriented development.

The vision for the site has been years in the making. The Innovation Campus concept was identified in McMinnville’s 2019 MacTown 2032 Economic Development Strategic Plan and further developed through the Three Mile Lane Area Plan adopted in 2022. The City now describes McMinnville Landing as a high-density employment campus intended to support the next generation of industrial and entrepreneurial jobs, with research and development nurtured alongside product manufacturing.

Since then, the City of McMinnville, the three property owners, MEDP, Business Oregon, and other partners have worked through planning, infrastructure, and development considerations.

The work has included transportation, utilities, stormwater, and long-range service planning. McMinnville Water & Light is also coordinating planning and engineering for a future electrical substation intended to support long-term growth and industrial capacity in southeast McMinnville.

In 2025, the McMinnville Landing Master Plan and infrastructure planning moved the project further toward implementation, and in 2026, the property owners began working with MEDP to actively position the site for developers, employers, investors, and site selectors.

The next step is also taking shape.

The three property owners are anticipated to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with MEDP that would allow MEDP to pursue a Regionally Significant Industrial Site (RSIS) application through Business Oregon on behalf of the McMinnville Landing partnership.

RSIS is designed to support industrial site readiness through a performance-based economic development structure, making the potential application another step toward preparing the property for future investment.

That is what long-term economic development looks like: not waiting until a company is ready to move before beginning the work required to accommodate it.

Ready before we know exactly what comes next

The FAST opportunity brings together many of the things MEDP has been working on for years: business connections, workforce development, advanced manufacturing, entrepreneurship, regional collaboration and site readiness.

It also reinforces the importance of thinking beyond city or county boundaries.

McMinnville’s future economic opportunities will not exist in isolation. They will be shaped by what happens across the Willamette Valley and Oregon—including investments in semiconductor technology, research, manufacturing and workforce development.

For MEDP, being part of FAST is an opportunity to listen, learn, connect and contribute a McMinnville perspective to that larger conversation.

The organization is not predicting that McMinnville will become Oregon’s next semiconductor hub. Nor does it need to.

Instead, the opportunity is to recognize that McMinnville already has pieces of the ecosystem: specialized technology companies, advanced manufacturers, educators, workforce partners, entrepreneurs, students and land being intentionally prepared for future employment.

The next step is connecting those pieces.

A history of preparing for the future

2022 — MEDP’s relationship with Oregon State University expands through the Oregon Leadership Summit, beginning a series of conversations that would lead to a meeting with OSU President Jayathi Murthy’s leadership team.

2023 — MEDP meets with OSU leadership and continues building connections around regional economic development, innovation and emerging opportunities.

2024 — MEDP is invited to participate in OSU’s FAST effort as the consortium develops its NSF Regional Innovation Engine proposal. FAST holds regional stakeholder workshops and advances its proposal.

January 2025 — MEDP formally commits as a key Stakeholder Partner, identifying regional coordination, supply-chain connections, investment attraction, workforce development and land-development opportunities as areas of contribution.

2025–2026 — McMinnville Landing advances through master planning, infrastructure analysis and development planning, while MEDP works with the property owners to position the site for future investment.

July 2026 — OSU-led FAST is selected for an NSF Regional Innovation Engine award, with up to $160 million available over 10 years to grow Oregon’s semiconductor ecosystem.

2026 and beyond — MEDP continues participating in FAST conversations while advancing local workforce, business and site-readiness efforts that can help McMinnville connect to regional opportunities.

Thinking ahead

McMinnville has a history of adapting to new industries and technologies. The community’s economic future will likely require that same adaptability.

From WIN and student manufacturing experiences, to specialized companies such as Applied Physics Technologies and Chameleon Industries to the long-term planning underway at McMinnville Landing, MEDP and its partners are working to create the conditions for future opportunity.

FAST is one more connection in that effort.