Global Foundries breaks ground on long-awaited NY fab
The new 300-mm manufacturing facility is expected to bring 1,400 direct semiconductor manufacturing jobs and billions of dollars in economic development to upstate New York.
By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News -- EDN, July 24, 2009
Global Foundries today announced it officially broke ground on the construction of Fab 2, a new semiconductor manufacturing facility located at the Luther Forest Technology Campus in Saratoga County, NY.
The construction and ramp-up phases for the new $4.2 billion facility are expected to take approximately three years to complete, with volume production expected in 2012. According to the company, once Fab 2 is completed it will stand as the "most technologically advanced semiconductor manufacturing facility in the world" and the "largest leading-edge semiconductor foundry in the United States."
“As today’s chip designers push the boundaries on the next generation of products, there is a growing need for a new approach to design and manufacturing rooted in collaboration and innovation," Hector Ruiz, chairman of Global Foundries, said in a statement. "With Fab 2, Global Foundries moves the semiconductor industry away from the traditional model of isolated regional development and into an era of global hubs of manufacturing and technology expertise.”
The new facility is designed to manufacture microprocessors and logic products on 300-mm wafers, Global Foundries said, noting that initial production is expected to ramp at the 28-nm technology node and move to volume manufacturing on the 22-nm node. Fab 2 will work in conjunction with Global Foundries’ Fab 1 facility in Dresden, Germany.
Today's ground breaking was long awaited. Indeed, talk of the NY fab began in 2006, years before AMD spun out its manufacturing operations to form Global Foundries in October 2008. AMD saw significant support from the state during its decision and commitment process, including $1.2 billion in incentives. That largest private-public investment in the history of the state included grants, tax credits, and other New York City Empire Zone benefits. In accord with the investment, New York gave AMD a two-year window, from July 2007 to July 2009, to initiate the building of a new 300-mm wafer fabrication facility in Saratoga County, NY.
New York's significant support was not unwarranted. New York estimated that the plant will create approximately 1,400 new, direct semiconductor manufacturing jobs at full-scale production, providing an estimated annual payroll of more than $88 million to the upstate region. In addition, the project will create approximately 5,000 new, indirect jobs in the region, offering a sustained estimated total annual payroll of $290 million for all jobs, according to New York's estimates.
The state's universities also have several high-tech efforts in play that include AMD and its partners. Most recently, Intel, IBM, and Sematech backed an R&D joint venture with the University at Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering center that is expected to add 475 jobs to New York.
“New York has worked with Global Foundries for three years to bring this [fab] project to fruition and I am pleased to say that with the groundbreaking of Fab 2, New York and Global Foundries take a lead role in delivering the type of economic growth needed to carry our nation toward sustainable growth,” said Governor David Paterson of New York in the Global Foundries statement. “This initiative not only provides our residents with a source for new jobs, but is integral in positioning New York as a future hub of innovation and an attractive destination for additional investment.”
AMD also showed its support at the ground breaking today. "This is an important opportunity to create thousands of jobs and strengthen US competiveness in the high-tech industry," said Dirk Meyer, president and CEO of AMD, in a company statement. “The multi-billion dollar investments in research and development and capacity expansion that Global Foundries is planning strengthen its position as a premier leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing foundry and make it the ideal AMD technology partner to help in bringing our innovative products to market.”
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These ground breaking is really exciting to everyone of us. The semiconductor industry will really change the current of manufacturing of semicon because of this very big new facility, some engineer like me awaiting to change this world to 300-mm technology. I do not surprise if TI still on top for the next 20 years or more in semicon industry because of this 300-mm analog manufacturing facility.
Marcos Bitara - 2009-30-9 02:41:00 PDT -
Global Foundries must be led by some of the least intelligent people on the face of the planet. Here we are in the greatest recession since the depression, and they build a foundry in a state with one of the highest costs of living in the world! This calls for a justice department investigation!
Tom Barry - 2009-28-7 11:05:00 PDT -
This is a positive step.
We finally see a major operation that will be made in the US instead of giving them away to other countries. We need to keep our jobs, our resources, our IP inside the USA in order to protect our future.
Viet Nguyen - 2009-24-7 15:52:00 PDT
