The sleepy Czech town helping Europe compete in the global chip war
Roznov pod Radhostem was best known for its rum-drizzled sweet pies and an open-air museum showing off historical wooden houses. Then came an announcement that stirred the sleepy backwater.
US chipmaker ON Semiconductor Corp. picked Roznov for a new $2 billion manufacturing hub in June. The past few weeks have seen a flurry of visits by property developers, the head of a local university and government officials followed around by television crews.
The interest isn’t surprising given the investment will be the biggest by a foreign company in the Czech Republic for three decades. But it also reflects how there’s more riding on the plan to make a new generation of microchips than the prospects of a corner of central Europe.
Onsemi will expand an existing site to make chips for electric vehicles and the renewable energy industry, with a contract with Volkswagen AG already lined up. Success is not just important for the town and the stagnating Czech economy, but also the European Union’s ability to secure supplies amid a global battle for critical components.
“Semiconductors are becoming the backbone of the modern economy,” Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Sikela said. “The more of these new technologies we can produce domestically, the better for our economic security.”
The Onsemi investment is modest compared with some technology projects elsewhere in Europe. But the current Roznov facility already plays an outsized role within the company because it designs as well as produces semiconductors. That’s key to
