IBM leads $2.7B Investment in NY
Online staff -- EDN, January 5, 2005
IBM will lead a $2.7 billion investment in a next generation chip plant with help from co-investors Sony, Toshiba and Samsung.
New York Governor George Pataki revealed details of the investment in his 2005 “State of the State” address today. IBM’s contribution to the plant will be $1.9 billion.
“Over the last decade, IBM has repeatedly demonstrated its confidence in New York and our policies through a succession of landmark investments,” Pataki said during his address.
“Here in Albany, we have yet another exciting announcement at our Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics. ASML, the world’s leading chip equipment manufacturer, will invest over $325 million to create its first-ever R & D center outside of Europe,” he said.
“At the Albany Center of Excellence, IBM and a consortium of the largest nanoelectronics equipment suppliers will fund an unprecedented $450 million expansion of that center's R & D capabilities. Together these projects will bring a staggering $2.7 billion in new private investment to Tech Valley, bringing jobs and optimism to communities throughout the region,” continued Pataki.
The announcements are proof-positive that the high-tech and Center of Excellence programs are working, attracting investment from around the globe and transforming N.Y.’s economy to meet the challenges of the 21st century, he also said.
Tokyo Electron, Applied Materials, AMD and Infineon are also reported to be involved in the investment that includes a new semiconductor plant at IBM’s existing Fishkill, N.Y. plant.
The plan is set to create 750 new jobs, along with another 250 in various related research projects to be funded as part of a decade-long drive by the governor to boost the fortunes of a region which has struggled to regain its footing since employers such as General Electric Co. closed older manufacturing plants there in the 1980s.
The 380,000-square-foot plant is scheduled to begin operations in the second half of 2005 for use in producing chips for key IBM customers such as Sony, reports said.
In exchange for pledging to create and retain jobs, Pataki promised to contribute $150 million in state funds to support the plant and related research projects into cutting-edge nanotechnology.
This announcement paves the way for IBM and partners to plow hundreds of millions of dollars into advanced manufacturing research projects at state universities and private institutions in the region stretching from the state capital in Albany, south along the Hudson River toward New York City.
ASML’s 300mm wafer research center is to receive $400 million, with another $450 million to be allocated by IBM to establish another production line at Albany Nanotech, a high-tech materials research center within the University at Albany, part of the State University of N.Y. The ASML project is to be known as the International Multiphase Partnership for Lithography Science and Engineering.
The investments are the latest phase of Pataki's plan to turn upstate New York into a technology center. Earlier, Tokyo Electron Ltd. announced a $300 million project at UAlbany. And before that, International Sematech, a consortium of semiconductor companies, announced a $403 million center.
