ASML Charts Its Next Chapter in Advanced Chipmaking With Wilton at the Center

As surging demand for artificial intelligence pushes ASML to expand its global operations, the company is looking to Wilton to play a larger, long-term role in developing and manufacturing its most advanced chipmaking technology.

In an interview with GOOD Morning Wilton on Thursday, Oct. 15, Jim Koonmen, ASML’s chief customer officer and president of ASML US, outlined plans to expand work on extreme ultraviolet lithography, or EUV, at the Wilton campus.

“What we’re announcing today is a commitment to expand our activities, specifically related to EUV at the Wilton site,” Koonmen said. That commitment includes both manufacturing and development, he added.

The conversation came a day after ASML reported record quarterly sales of €11.7 billion ($13.13 billion) and said its planned supply for 2027 and 2028 would not fully meet customer demand. In its Oct. 14 earnings release, the company said it is investigating further capacity increases for 2028, with some customers already expressing interest in placing orders for 2029 and 2030.

For Wilton, the direction means a greater share of the advanced technology work that ASML expects to drive its future. Koonmen said facilities expansion and reconfiguration are likely, along with some additional employment. Some work on older technology could move to other ASML locations to make room.

“That’s a testament to the talent we think we have at the Wilton site… a testament to their ability to handle the most advanced work,” Koonmen said. “It’s expanding Wilton’s share of the most advanced, most critical, most urgent lithography technologies in the ASML network.”

ASML spokesperson Sarah de Crescenzo said they approached GMW to bring residents into the conversation around the company’s direction early, before specific investment amounts, construction plans and hiring targets are available. She said those details would follow as planning develops.

A Larger Role in Advanced Technology

ASML makes equipment used by semiconductor manufacturers to produce chips. Wilton already produces critical parts for its lithography systems, which use light to create tiny patterns on semiconductor wafers.

“The Wilton site makes a very critical part of every ASML scanner that we sell worldwide — it’s what we call the top module,” Koonmen explained.

The module holds and moves the semiconductor mask in precise synchronization with the wafer during the patterning process.

Design, testing, manufacturing and management of the module’s supply chain all take place in Wilton, he said. “So it’s a very, very important, very capable site for ASML.”

The new direction would increase Wilton’s share of work on EUV systems, which can produce finer patterns than the older deep ultraviolet, or DUV, technology.

Koonmen compared DUV to painting with a broad brush and EUV to using a more precise one. A newer generation, known as high numerical aperture EUV, or High NA EUV, offers still finer resolution for manufacturing advanced chips.

Wilton also makes the top modules for those newer systems. Employees have worked on those modules for a decade, Koonmen said, and manufacturing activity is expected to increase as customers bring the equipment into high-volume production over the next year or two.

Koonmen attributed the decision to direct more advanced work here to the workforce’s capabilities and the site’s history in lithography, dating to Perkin-Elmer and Silicon Valley Group before ASML.

Global Demand and Local Growth

For the EUV systems already used in high-volume chip manufacturing, he described plans to increase ASML’s output by approximately 30% from 2026 to 2027, with the company seeking another 30% increase from 2027 to 2028.

“That type of growth is truly unprecedented in our industry, and for ASML and the Wilton site,” Koonmen said. “So that’s going to be challenging to execute, but we’re confident we’re going to be able to pull it off, and making the Wilton site a linchpin of our execution strategy, we’re absolutely confident that’s the right thing to do.”

The companywide production targets don’t mean there will be equivalent growth in Wilton’s workforce or campus activity. Koonmen said moving some older technology work elsewhere would offset part of the additional EUV work, although some increase in activity and employment is anticipated.

Community Impacts Still to Be Determined

ASML already has a workforce in Wilton that it says is more than 3,000 employees strong. As for what the future changes might mean for specific growth, there’s not a firm headcount or projected employment total the company can commit to yet.

Koonmen said ASML intends to work with Wilton officials and community partners on potential effects involving parking, construction and surrounding neighborhoods, sharing its plans and seeking public input.

“We really want to we want to do this in partnership with all of our local constituents,” he said, adding the company understands it has an impact on the communities in which it operates.

“We want to minimize that so we want to work with all of our community partners, we want to work with the town of Wilton and make sure that we’re fully transparent about what we’re doing and what that will mean in terms of changes,” he said, adding “and then solicit community input into that to make sure we can land in a place that works for all.”

“We’re also very, very careful to not exceed the capability of the surrounding community to handle what we’re planning to do on that site,” he said. 

Both Koonmen and de Crescenzo were eager to reinforce how important they see Wilton as being.

“Every AI chip goes through an EUV machine,” de Crescenzo said. “So what that means is that Wilton’s role in the the AI ecosystem is probably a lot more critical than a lot of people realize.”

Koonmen echoed the thought. “Wilton is going to be a leadership, a flagship site for advanced technology in the U.S. — even more critical, even more important than it has been historically, going forward. It’ll play a really pivotal role for us.”

He explained another impact ASML will have. “We’re going to be a big employer in Wilton for a long time.”