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Transcript: WIBX 950AM: Dr. Robert Geer on 'Keeler in the Morning’ 12/9/15

Keeler>> Robert Geer is Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of SUNY Poly and on this morning to talk about what's going on with nanotechnology. The question came up yesterday, and there was a story in the O-D this past weekend that talked about the progress and what is happening but, Robert, good morning and thank you for coming on. and —

Geer>> Thank you for having me.

Keeler>> The question has been, jobs. People are saying we thought we'd see those IBM jobs or those GE jobs here. Where are they and what is the progress? What's happening.

Geer>> Yeah, you know, it is moving. A lot of people would like to see it so much faster but these are complex things. You know, the GE component is something called power electronics, we're used to using chips in our phones and computers and power electronics are the brains behind our smart grid, the brains behind controlling jet engines and power plants and so forth. So it’s a two part plan. Wafers will come out here and be packaged. It’s a complex process, a new market for them and they’re excited about it. I expect to see more happening in the Quad-C. They’re finalizing their equipment plans. It will take 3-4 months to install the equipment and do the fit up. It will probably happen in the first quarter or two of next year. That’s when you’ll see the job ramp up. They’re looking for 480 or so over 5 years so it will start at equipment. Not too different a story from Marcy. That site is being cleared as a chip fab for AMS. They’re doing all the site work, all the geological work, all the soil boring. There’s a request for proposal for actually building the fab. There will be shovels in the ground in April.

Keeler>>I read in the paper that the product, the end result, we may see by 2017.

Geer>> That’s when they’re really hoping to get their process and first wafers rolling off the line. That may seem like a long time to people, but when you talk about putting this manufacturing capability in, that’s an incredibly short runway and that’s what’s so important for the area. This company AMS makes the sensor chips that go into iphones and that go into medical devices, and you name it. They probably have a product in it. And, when Apple comes calling they don't come calling for 4,000 parts. They are saying how many millions of sensors can you give us. And, so, they are looking at Utica, as their center for this huge volume manufacturing and so, that's why this is a big deal.

Keeler>> Listen, I don't want to go on the negative but, we continue despite everything, to hear the negative. one of the things on ams that I would like to ask you about is, we spoke with somebody who said, i know that company well. It is a good company, but, they do not have the kind of money that is being invested in this project. Can you explain the finances and where all of the money is coming from for what ams is doing because it is a pretty big endeavor.

Geer>> Oh, yeah. This is coming from AMS. I can't speak to their balance sheet but they are a publicly traded company. This is a project that was approved by the board, and, they are actually a cash rich company right now. They have been growing so quickly, and, they have been setting records of I think each of the last two or three quarters and you can go and check that. So, they want to be able to position themselves to grow and so they need the extra capacity. So, they are in a fantastic position to do it, and listen, New York State has been a great partner. They really roll out the red carpet to bring these guys in but not because they wanted -- not because the company was going to up and take whatever New York could give them. That's the whole reason we're partnering with the university. And, they'll come here and stay.

Keeler>> All right, and, the jobs. and we've heard, jobs are already happening, there are people already working, there are people already at the facility. Who is there right now and what jobs have already come?

Geer>> So, right now the -- i assume that you're talking about the Quad-C as opposed to AMS; Quad-C we just finished up with the- we added extra flex space, or we added the ability in the facility to be able to expand if necessary. So, right now, we're in the process of, we've completed that, the clean rooms are all completed, and we're doing that transitioning now to take over control in managing that facility, and, so really the first jobs are going to be those first operational jobs, and, we're starting that process right now, so just operate the facility, and then of course,when GE will have more construction jobs as GE comes in and does their particular fit up -- put in their particular tools and will ramp up for larger operations and this is a process, not nearly as quick as people would like because this is an incredibly complex facility. Once this these facilities are up and running they are cutting-edge for the next few decades.

Keeler>> Up in Saratoga, what does the transformation been like?

Geer>> You know, it has been huge, if you talk to the people and especially the chip manufacturing facility up there, GlobalFoundries, it is just a tremendous investment over the last, you know, well, coming up on the decade since the announcement way back in 2006. But, just an incredible investment. Saratoga County has seen just incredible growth, and, you know, some of it has come with bumps along the way, but I think that everybody has seen this as a huge positive. And, it has changed. You know, it is driven up obviously the property values which is mostly been  a good thing, and certainly, jobs. So, I think something is surprising and it has not -- all of the jobs in terms of people coming in have not just landed in Saratoga County. it has been spread out in the region which is great news here because people, you know, in the areas around, Oneida County, they want to see that growth and that's what happened out there.

Keeler>> I know that your trying to ignore the -- put the blinders on and plow forward but I want to ask you, was there resistance there like here in terms of the people saying, it is not, this is not really -- it is never going to happen and these jobs are never coming. Did you experience that there.

Geer>> I think to a certain extent, I don't think that as much because I don't -- there has been some growth on the tech side before that. And, we have to get through these first key steps to really -- people believing it will come back.

Keeler>> And these people that are the quote unquote naysayers have been beaten up so badly, promised so often but those promises never came to fruition. So you can understand the people's questions and apprehension.

Geer>> We don't miss a chance to get people up here and see these new facilities, and the same thing is true with the AMS plant, where there were trees and shrubs, a lot of  bulldozers up there and we get through this winter, I'm glad it is not as tough as last winter was, we get through this winter so far, you know, come April, the spring, people see a tremendous amount of activity up there, so, —

Keeler>> Big spring coming up…thanks