The Green Power Leadership Award recognizes America’s leading businesses, organizations, programs, and individuals for their outstanding commitment and achievement in significantly advancing the development of green power sources. Samsung was one of seventeen organizations nationwide to receive the Green Power award.

As of 2018, Samsung 837, located in New York City is ranked among all ENERGY STAR buildings with a score of 99/100.

“We are honored by this prestigious Green Power Leadership recognition from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” said Mark Newton, Head of Corporate Sustainability, Samsung Electronics North America. “As demonstrated by our expanded use of green power, Samsung is focused on protecting our planet and doing our part as a global environmental steward to reduce our environmental impact and increase the deployment of renewable energy technologies. We strive to use our business to initiate change in our company, the industry and beyond.”

From 2017 to 2018, Samsung Electronics America, Samsung Austin Semiconductor, LLC, and Samsung Semiconductor increased their green power usage over 56 percent through a purchase of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) from wind farms as well as a rooftop solar array.

Samsung is a proud partner of the EPA’s Green Power Partnership (GPP), a voluntary program that helps increase green power use among organizations to advance the American market for green power. Samsung is No. 8 on EPA’s National Top 100 Partners list and No. 6 on the Top 30 Tech and Telecom Partners list. Each list highlights EPA Green Power Partners using the most renewable energy annually as of July 2019.

In June 2018, Samsung announced its goal to source 100 percent renewable energy for energy used in its establishments – factories, office buildings and operational facilities – in the U.S., Europe and China by 2020. This goal is rooted in Samsung’s mission to serve as a global environmental steward, reduce its environmental footprint, and contribute to the advancement of the voluntary green power market.

Samsung Semiconductor’s solar array produces 800,000 kWh of green power annually.

From 2017 to 2018, Samsung Electronics America, Samsung Austin Semiconductor, LLC, and Samsung Semiconductor increased their green power usage over 56 percent from 792,096,012 kWh to 1,236,305,518 kWh through a purchase of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) from wind farms as well as a rooftop solar array. This green power use, which is equivalent to the electricity use of approximately 115,000 average American homes annually, represents 100 percent of the total power needs of Samsung Electronics America, Samsung Austin Semiconductor and Samsung Semiconductor. As part of their green power use, Samsung Semiconductor invested in a new rooftop solar array at its San Jose, CA campus, producing 800,000 kWh annually.

For more information on the company’s ongoing corporate sustainability initiatives, which includes driving improvements across all areas of business, please visit:

• Samsung Electronics America: https://www.samsung.com/us/aboutsamsung/sustainability/strategy/
• Samsung Austin Semiconductor: https://www.samsung.com/us/sas/Sustainability/Approach
• Samsung Electronics’ 2019 Sustainability Report

Summary

• Jason James is a Senior Engineering Technician who works in Samsung Austin Semiconductor’s Metrology group.
• Jason is a collector in the truest sense of the word, and a proud curator of multiple collections.
• He has been collecting since he was six years old, and has amassed a top-ranked collection of cards and memorabilia related to Hall of Fame baseball player Johnny Bench.
• He credits his hobby with teaching him valuable skills that apply to both his work and life in general.

As far as collectible items go, you could say that considering the tremendous amount of history and tradition that surrounds them, baseball cards are in a league of their own.

Jason James, a Senior Engineering Technician in Samsung Austin Semiconductor’s Metrology group, has been collecting playing cards and memorabilia related to America’s ‘national pastime’ sport since he was a child. He’s now the proud owner of the world’s top-ranked master set of Johnny Bench baseball cards, and he credits his hobby with teaching him valuable lessons and skills that apply to both his work and life in general.

Samsung Austin Semiconductor Senior Engineering Technician Jason James is the proud owner of the world’s top-ranked ‘master set’ of Johnny Bench baseball cards

It Began with a Gift

Jason’s day job involves monitoring optical thickness measurement and concentration measurement tools for Samsung’s 300mm foundry line in Austin, Texas. He takes great pride in his work, and brings a wealth of experience to the table.

“I joined Samsung Austin Semiconductor in 2007, but I’ve worked in the semiconductor industry off and on since 1995,” says Jason. “I love it in my current department and role.”

The Illinois native brings that same level of passion to his three main pastimes: collecting Hot Wheels, coins and paper currency, and of course, all things Johnny Bench. The world of baseball card collecting is unique because, as Jason points out, “everyone collects something different, and for different reasons.” In the case of Jason’s top-ranked collection, it all began with a gift from his father.

“I started collecting Johnny Bench items around 1986, when Johnny came to visit Fort Gordon, Georgia,” Jason explains. “My father was a Company Commander in the U.S. Army at the time, and although we were out of town, his First Sergeant got him a baseball that Johnny had signed while [visiting] the barracks. My dad gave me the baseball, I started collecting his cards, and I never stopped.”

Jason’s top-rated Johnny Bench collection began with a signed baseball—a gift from his father

An Appreciation for Oddballs

After receiving that first baseball, Jason began to scour his local card shops and purchase any card (“that a 12-year-old could afford”) that had Johnny Bench on it. Although it became harder to find collectibles when his family moved to Germany, he continued to grow his collection, piece by piece. Today, card shops have become harder to come by, so over 95 percent of the items that Jason purchases come from online auctions.

Jason’s collection may be centered around Johnny Bench, but it also features collectibles that honor other players who were important to him growing up, as well as what are affectionately known as “oddball” items.

“I’ve always had a fondness for a Pittsburgh Pirates player named Willie Stargell,” says Jason. “And of course, being born in the state of Illinois, I’ve always liked a player known as ‘Mr. Cub’ – Ernie Banks.”

As he explains, oddball items are usually rarer than common baseball cards, and typical examples include things like vintage candy containers, pins and advertising materials. “At one point,” he notes, “the paper sleeves on hot dogs had player cards integrated into them. Some of these items sell for hundreds of dollars each when they are [appraised], even when they’re in mediocre condition. It’s crazy for something printed on a pack of hot dogs from 1968 to sell for that much in 2018.”

Jason’s collection is packed with rare items, like these vintage ballpark bubble gum and candy containers, that would sell for hundreds of dollars today

More Than a Hobby

Jason’s passion for collecting has seen him amass an impressive—and wide-ranging—haul of interesting items, many of which carry deep personal value.

Some of the biggest examples (in the most literal sense of the word) would be his three full-sized arcade machines. The prize piece of this collection, Jason explains, is the upright Super Pac-Man machine: “It’s an original cabinet that my mother and I cosmetically restored much of the exterior of, and the inside is all new electronics, with a mainboard that has 60 different classic 80s video games on it.”

Jason’s passion for collecting has seen him amass an impressive haul of interesting items. Here we see one of the biggest examples: an original Super Pac-Man arcade machine that Jason restored with the help of his mother

He also points out that the nuts and bolts of collecting have helped him excel in his work at Samsung Austin Semiconductor.

“I’d say that the organizing and record keeping of my graded items has always carried over into my work, [including] how I keep up with my various reference ‘test’ wafers and their inventory.”

Overall, Jason’s experience tracking down rare cards and other memorabilia for over 30 years has reinforced valuable lessons that extend far beyond the world of collecting.

“In card collecting… it’s never giving up that’s the key,” he explains. “Finding a very rare item can take years, and may never even happen, but you have to keep looking.”

Summary

• Kenneth Abraham, Supervisor for CVD Fab Ops at Samsung Austin Semiconductor, re-purposes junk material and scrap metal to build vehicles – all in his spare time
• Combining creativity with mechanical know-how and a healthy dose of hard work, Kenneth has managed to turn the most inane of discarded items – such as old office chairs – into fully-functioning vehicles
• Kenneth applies the patience and dedication his hobby has taught him to all aspects of his life – personal as well as professional

The answer to the question of ‘what happens next’ with something once we’ve finished using it is usually a simple one. Paper and plastic go into recycling bins to be given new life and old electronics can be returned to be re-purposed. But what happens to bigger ticket items that run out of steam? Most of the time, they end up in dumps or scrap heaps; and our knowledge about what happens next ends there.

However, some enterprising individuals have found a way to harness their creativity and know-how to breathe second life into these abandoned scraps. One such enterprising individual is Kenneth Abraham, of Samsung Austin Semiconductor, whose hobby has developed from a childhood interest in unique vehicles to the ability to repurpose nonfunctioning junk into fully operational vehicles.

Diamonds in the Rough

Kenneth’s interest in building vehicles stems from a childhood spent in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range in California. An area where people often live unwalkable distances from each other, Kenneth grew up commandeering dirt bikes and other more unusual forms of transportation in order to travel around. He and his older brother would also pass the time re-building vintage sports bikes together; an activity that would lead him to his interest in re-vitalizing the discarded.

“My brother and I had just finished putting together a ‘90s Honda CBR and had an aluminum frame left over from the parts we used,” recalls Kenneth. “My brother mentioned he was going to recycle it, but I looked at it and saw the potential for a trike – I mentioned this to my brother and our project started from there.”

Kenneth and his first creation – a trike

Kenneth had always enjoyed building things but was put off by the cost of new materials – particularly given the limited options his hometown had on offer. Therefore, he learnt to modify what he found while out visiting junkyards and turn it, through some creative thinking and mechanical know-how, into what he needed for his creations.

Crafting Something Out of Nothing

Kenneth primarily honed his mechanical knowledge and skills through practice on abandoned, broken-down vehicles. But this soon developed into him creating his own vehicles from discarded scrap. Kenneth is able to manage each and every step in the re-purposing process, from scrap collection to test driving. This is no easy feat considering the wealth of safety and technical considerations that go into such projects – not the mention the eagle eye for spotting potential in the discarded that is a must.

His first project, a trike (three-wheeled motorcycle), demonstrates Kenneth’s eye for re-purposing. “The trike’s frame came from a ’97 Honda bike that I cut down, the seat was made from an old office chair, a 50-gallon drum became the rear fender, and an old helmet visor became the front windshield,” notes Kenneth on just a few of the re-purposed components he created his trike from.

Kenneth transformed an old drum container (left) into the rear fender of his vehicle (right)

Another building accomplishment of Kenneth’s is his riding cooler; having seen the vehicle on offer at what he considered extortionate prices, Kenneth set out determined to make his own. “I found a motor assist chair at a Goodwill Auction that was not working, so I bought and repaired – it had some wiring issues. I then took the chair apart, built a box to hold my cooler and equipped the machine with lights and a stereo.”

Kenneth transformed an obsolete motor assist chair (left) into a riding cooler (right)

Powering Through Obstacles

In developing this childhood hobby through to engine-roaring fruition, Kenneth cites his older brother, Elroy, as his inspiration. Having at age 13 watched him customize the dash on his Volkswagen Beetle, Kenneth became determined to pursue this hobby himself. He says that, nowadays, his hobby serves to give him a different perspective on his day-to-day work at Samsung Electronics. Not only this, but thanks to the 5S workplace organizational methodology employed by Samsung Austin Semiconductor, he is now sure to keep his hobby work area 5S-compliant for maximum efficiency and safety.

Further to the harmony that Kenneth has achieved between his work and his passion, the biggest takeaway he has to share is simple – just to take a break every once in a while. “Sometimes things don’t go together as you thought, and you can get really frustrated,” Kenneth muses. “I have found that simply stopping to take a breath can calm your mind and let you see something you were missing before.”

Kenneth posing proudly with another of his creations, a motorized picnic table

Of course, Kenneth often comes up against challenges – particularly when looking to replicate features seen on traditionally manufactured machines on his own inventions. But the motto inscribed on his work bench represents his drive, even in times of difficulty; ‘Doubt Kills More Dreams Than Failure Ever Will.’

Kenneth’s unusual and laborious hobby might seem somewhat out of the reach of those of us who don’t possess knowledge on the workings of either mechanical engineering or how to re-purpose scrap; but his commitment to achieving his goals and not giving up at the first setback is a universally admirable quality. Kenneth even has some wise words for anyone looking to take up any enterprising hobby: “just try it – you might surprise yourself!”

Samsung Electronics America (SEA) and Samsung Austin Semiconductor (SAS) are working with AT&T, to create America’s first manufacturing-focused 5G “Innovation Zone” in Austin, Texas. With 5G promising to eventually usher in a new era for manufacturing, this new Zone will help provide crucial insight into how smart manufacturing can evolve and strengthen the industry at large.

Next-Generation 5G for SAS

5G is set to be the next generation of mobile communications. Its delivery objectives, grounded in an ecosystem that covers chipsets, devices, and other equipment, include reduced latency, high data rates, higher system capacity and massive device connectivity.

The goal of the new 5G-powered testbed is to provide tangible results for a better understanding of how 5G can impact manufacturing, as well as to provide insight into the future of a smart factory. The 5G-enabled “Innovation Zone” sits within Samsung Austin Semiconductor, one of the world’s most advanced semiconductor fabrication facilities. It will harness Samsung’s 5G equipment as well as AT&T’s 5G wireless technology.

AT&T Business Chief Marketing Officer, Mo Katibeh, notes that this project is an industry first. “We’re testing the real-world impact 5G will have on the manufacturing industry. Ultimately, we will use what we learn from this 5G ‘Innovation Zone’ to help create better technology experiences and improvements in SAS’s plant, along with creating a future blueprint for people and businesses across all industries.”

The Future of Smart Factories

5G-enabled technologies promise to eventually have a significant impact on the development of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, particularly for connected manufacturing. 5G support has the potential to unlock new experiences in AR, powerful machine learning and AI applications, and to provide the next step in intelligent robotics and predictive maintenance.

Some of the new technologies and use cases that SEA and AT&T may explore in the SAS Innovation Zone include 4K video as a sensor to improve plant security and detection response, industry IoT sensors to monitor for environmental and equipment conditions, AR and VR for employee training, and enhanced location services for plant safety.

“As we evolve into a smart factory, Samsung Austin Semiconductor is continuously focused on leveraging data and automation to increase system performance,” says Dr. Sang-Pil Sim, President of SAS. “This collaboration with Samsung Electronics America and AT&T will help us test how a 5G network can improve mobility, performance and efficiencies within our plant.”

One Step Closer

This announcement marks a step forward on the way to the widespread commercialization and use of 5G technologies. In September, Samsung announced its first 5G city, which tests diverse 5G use cases and learn technical requirements from its real-world application.

The launch of the Austin “Innovation Zone” is another breakthrough for enhanced connectivity across the board. “We’re hard at work deploying our commercial mobile 5G network for people and businesses in parts of a dozen cities by the end of this year,” says Igal Elbaz, Senior Vice President of Wireless Technology at AT&T. “Seeing a number of technologies enhanced and improved by 5G at a large manufacturing plant will give us an exciting glimpse into a 5G world, which is closer than ever.”

“This test bed demonstrates Samsung’s expertise in innovation spanning chipsets to devices to network technology,” notes Wilf Norrlinger, Vice President of the SEA Networks Division. “We’re excited to expand upon our recent commercial networks agreements with AT&T to bring 5G technologies to the forefront of industry, and advance specific use cases to accelerate new market opportunities.”

Since 2000, Samsung has been developing 5G technologies to advance network capabilities in order to meet the ever-growing data demand in an increasingly connected world. Using in-house technology and assets, Samsung has managed to develop the first commercial ASIC-based 5G modems and mmWave RFICS, enabling the design of compact access units and CPEs. In the first half of 2018, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted authorization of Samsung’s 5G access units and CPEs for the first time. Samsung continues to drive the next wave of technologies taking an open approach towards providing a seamless pathway to a 5G world by unlocking the potential of mobile services and future connections.

“Samsung is a bellwether for Austin. As a company that the community and state partnered with to relocate here several years ago, they have far exceeded expectations,” said Mike Rollins, President, Austin Chamber of Commerce. “Samsung remains a shining example of what happens when we create a business friendly environment.  The result is a win that enhances and sustains our community’s ability to create a broad range of new jobs and economic opportunities for Austinites and their families.”

According to an Impact Data Source Economic Impact Study, SAS added $3.6 billion into the regional economy of central Texas in 2015. During that same time, SAS supported 10,755 jobs in the area and $498 million in annual salaries. Since its establishment in 1997, Samsung has invested more than $16 billion for the expansion and maintenance of its Austin facility.

“I was glad to discuss this with Samsung when our trade delegation visited Korea, and I’m thrilled that this plan is coming to fruition,” said Austin Mayor Steve Adler. “Samsung is so often a source of good news in Austin whether it’s about jobs, education, workforce development, housing or helping the homeless. Samsung is a great partner for Austin’s present, and this announcement tells us that they’ll be an even bigger part of our future.”

“We are committed to Austin and our contributions to the community,” said Catherine Morse, General Counsel and Senior Director of Public Affairs at SAS. “This is our home and we want to ensure our community is healthy and prospering. These investments will support this, while also ensuring our customers’ growing needs are met.”