ABM Industries

The semiconductor industry has always been defined by constant change, but its latest transformation has surpassed what even industry veterans could have predicted. Rapid technological advances, renewed domestic investment, global demand, and AI are converging to create a market where semiconductor infrastructure must evolve almost as quickly as the industry itself.

The scale of that challenge is already evident. The semiconductor industry was projected to become a trillion-dollar market by 2030, yet surpassed that milestone four and a half years ahead of schedule. That unprecedented growth has intensified pressures across the ecosystem, from a shortage of skilled talent and the need to expand manufacturing capacity to the rising cost and complexity of new facilities. Together, these forces have created an inflection point for semiconductor manufacturing, with facilities becoming increasingly complex to build, operate, and support.

“It takes years to build a semiconductor fab, while the technology it produces evolves in a matter of days,” says Joseph Cestari, vice president, semiconductor operations. “That's the paradox of our industry.”

Cestari has spent more than four decades experiencing the industry's constant evolution firsthand, beginning as an MTS equipment engineer at AMD and moving through engineering, manufacturing, construction, supply chain, and business development. He worked in a pioneering phase of semiconductor manufacturing, when engineers often had to learn through trial and error because established playbooks and documentation were limited. That experience gave him a strong foundation in problem-solving, adaptability, and agility that he now brings to ABM Industries.

Those lessons continue to shape Cestari’s perspective on the industry's current inflection point. Having worked across the U.S. and Asia, he believes there is no single right way to build a successful semiconductor ecosystem. Different countries have developed distinct strengths, and progress depends on listening, adapting, and learning from those approaches. Cestari views the CHIPS Act as a catalyst for rebuilding the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem, which has been weakened by decades of insufficient investment while Taiwan, Korea, China, and Japan have built successful ecosystems of their own. That emphasis on adaptation and learning now informs his work within the company.

At ABM, Cestari is helping build a focused semiconductor services business around an agnostic service model designed to enable customers' roadmaps and success. The company aims to stay engaged across a semiconductor fab’s lifecycle, from groundbreaking and production ramp-up to long-term operations, modernization, and decommissioning. The goal is continuity as operational requirements shift from construction to highly controlled production.

That lifecycle begins during construction, where ABM supports construction cleaning before helping facilities transition into controlled manufacturing environments through protocol management and access control. Once operations begin, its capabilities extend to facility infrastructure maintenance, cleanroom certification and cleaning, test-and-balance, and equipment installation and startup support, alongside original equipment manufacturers. The acquisition of WGNSTAR strengthened this model by adding expertise in managed workforce and equipment support services, building technical teams with the precise skills and cultural fit.

As the operational model evolves, Cestari is also focused on how technology can make the work more efficient. He sees automation, process control, and AI as important tools for improving efficiency, particularly in an environment where talent remains constrained and demand continues to rise. By reducing administrative work like reporting and procedure writing, these tools can give skilled professionals more time to focus on solving complex problems and planning for what comes next.

The need for efficiency is becoming increasingly urgent as semiconductor manufacturing and data center infrastructure place greater demands on energy and other resources. New energy solutions cannot be implemented at the same pace as technology changes, making greater operational efficiency essential to sustaining continued advancement. As the semiconductor industry enters an increasingly complex phase of growth, Cestari’s emphasis on adaptability, collaboration, and smarter use of technology and human expertise shapes how ABM supports manufacturers.