Published Feb 12, 2016 at 4:00pm

 

TECHNOLOGY COMPLEX — Construction of the Computer Chip Commercialization Center, or Quad C, at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Marcy began in 2013. The facility, whose initial design has undergone changes, is expected to result in the creation of 1,500 high-tech jobs, groundbreaking academic programs, and cutting-edge workforce training opportunities. It will focus on computer chip processing and packaging, and supply chain support. A feature of the technology complex is 56,000 square feet of clean room space. (Sentinel photo by John Clifford)

The Mohawk Valley is at the threshold of a new era of economic opportunity.

In August, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo made two game-changing announcements that represent a vision to position the SUNY Polytechnic Institute campus in Marcy as a nanotechnology hub. The anticipated results include the creation of high-paying jobs and positive spillover effects around the region.

The governor announced that ams AG, an Austrian-based semiconductor company, had selected Marcy for construction of a wafer fabrication facility. Semiconductor chips are found in everything from televisions and cell phones to computers and automobiles.

Site development is underway on the western edge of the SUNY Poly campus with construction of the plant anticipated to start by April. Ams projects production to begin in the first quarter of of 2018.

The company plans a 360,000-square-foot facility, which will include office buildings and support space

When the facility is in full production, ams anticipates there will be 740 direct employees. Peak construction employment is expected to be about 1,000 workers.

Capital purchases, operating expenses and other investments in the facility over the first 20 years are estimated at more than $2 billion.

“We want to establish ourselves as valuable contributors in the region, and as an ambassador of the region, we want to manufacture our products right here in Utica,” said Thomas Stockmeier, ams chief operating officer. “I feel personally that we can add an important piece to the puzzle, which makes this region the world’s leading technology hub for microelectronics and nanotechnologies.”

The project will more than double ams’ existing manufacturing capacity, enabling the company to support its growing customer base.

The site of more than 420 acres is designed to accommodate two more semiconductor operations.

In addition, Cuomo said that GE Global Research would sublease a portion of the under-construction Computer Chip Commercialization Center (Quad C) on the SUNY Poly campus for a silicon carbide power electronics packaging center. The investment is expected to create 850 jobs in the Mohawk Valley in the next 10 years.

The Quad C facility will enable leading-edge research in partnership with private nanotechnology companies to drive advanced development and commercialization opportunities related to system-on-a-chip technologies.

Supporters like Cuomo say ams and GE will create more of the higher-wage, higher-skill positions needed to kick-start the area’s economy.

“You’ve only just started; this is the first spark,” the governor said. “Stoke those flames; we are going to have an economic fire.”

The ams and GE projects will infuse $4 billion in public and private investment, create more than 2,500 direct and indirect jobs, and establish a foundation that can attract additional semiconductor and advanced electronics manufacturing companies. Full build out of the Marcy Nanocenter and Quad C can add three to four times the number of jobs currently committed at the Marcy campus.

Additionally, the economic impact of these announcements will be seen elsewhere as supply chain companies, commercial developers and existing businesses look favorably upon the region as a place to invest.

Cuomo called the Aug. 20 announcements on ams and GE a “transformative moment that will make a difference in peoples’ lives in the Mohawk Valley for generations to come.”

In July, ams, which maintains locations in more than 20 countries, executed an agreement with Fort Schuyler Management Corp. and Mohawk Valley EDGE that led to the governor’s announcement before a large and enthusiastic audience inside the Quad C building. Fort Schuyler will build the facilities and lease them to ams, with the company paying operating expenses on the wafers that it produces.

EDGE has been developing and promoting the site for semiconductor manufacturing since 1997. It pursued a strategy of making the site “shovel ready” for development of a computer chip manufacturing hub because the industry doesn’t want to wait several years for infrastructure to be built and permits obtained after a site has been selected. The goal has always been to minimize the time lag between when investment decisions have to be made and products can be sold.

Site preparations and other preparatory steps, like infrastructure improvements and obtaining permits, started more than a decade ago although no specific company had been identified. Nearly $60 million has been spent or committed to making the site shovel ready.

As part of this process,, EDGE went to the Oneida County Industrial Development Agency to put in place a tax sharing agreement for the Marcy Nanocenter that establishes how these facilities will be assessed and taxed via a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement. The 2013 agreement is an outline of what the PILOT terms would be and serves to take away any uncertainties on property tax questions.

It allocates a portion of the payment too Oneida County, town of Marcy, Whitesboro School District, Maynard Fire Department, and Dunham Public Library), and a revenue stream to support the overall needs of the project.