Mohawk Valley EDGE Awarded 2021 Project of the Year Award by NYSEDC for Cree | Wolfspeed Billion-Dollar Wafer Fab
Mohawk Valley EDGE was presented with prestigious honor at NYSEDC Annual Meeting in Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown, N.Y. – Mohawk Valley EDGE was presented with the Project of the Year award for the Cree|Wolfspeed project at the New York State Economic Development Council (NYSEDC) Annual Awards Ceremony held in Cooperstown this week.
Located in Upstate New York, the Marcy Nanocenter at SUNY Polytechnic Institute is a premier 434-acre greenfield campus developed for semiconductor and advanced technology manufacturing facilities. It is now home to Cree | Wolfspeed, who announced in 2019 that they would build a $1 billion, state-of-the-art, automotive-qualified 200mm-capable power wafer fabrication facility at the site. This fab will be the largest Silicon Carbide facility in the world and will be critical to supplying the next wave of electric vehicles (EV), 4G/5G mobile and industrial markets as Cree | Wolfspeed drives the industry transition from silicon-to-Silicon Carbide. Construction is on schedule for production to begin in early 2022. Cree | Wolfspeed has already hired almost 200 people to date and has committed to create more than 600 direct new jobs over the next eight years.
A recent U.S. Semiconductor Industry Association analysis estimated that each direct semiconductor industry job enables 4.89 jobs in other sectors of the economy. This new fab located next to SUNY Poly’s Utica Campus will open the door for new groundbreaking research and future recruitment opportunities for students in some of the most promising, high-growth, global industry technology sectors.
Mohawk Valley EDGE has aggressively developed and marketed the Marcy Nanocenter for over twenty years, an effort strongly supported by New York State, the Oneida County Industrial Development Agency, Oneida County, The Town of Marcy, National Grid, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, NY Creates and local consortia lenders led by NBT Bank, Adirondack Bank and Pathfinder Bank. In order to meet the lofty infrastructure demands of the semiconductor industry, $130 M of state, county and private money has been invested into the site to date. The Marcy Nanocenter is subdivided to serve multiple electronics/high-tech industry companies and the balance of the site is capable of supporting an additional 1 million square feet of cleanroom space. Other investments underway include the development of an on-campus supply-chain flex-space building and development of the Marcy-SUNY Parkway corridor into a mixed-use live-work environment at the gateway of the Marcy Nanocenter Campus.
“The NYSEDC is proud to recognize Mohawk Valley EDGE with the Project of the Year award for their work to attract Cree | Wolfspeed to the Marcy Nanocenter,” said Ryan Silva, NYSEDC executive director. “They have invested decades of time in planning, attracting investment, building collaborative public-private partnerships, and marketing their site. Congratulations to Steve and the entire team for the hard work and leadership. The NYSEDC would also like to thank Cree | Wolfspeed for choosing upstate New York, which further cements New York State as a global leader in the semiconductor industry.”
“Mohawk Valley EDGE, the lead developer of the Marcy Nanocenter site, thanks the New York State Economic Development Council for this prestigious award of Project of the Year for Cree | Wolfspeed’s Mohawk Valley Fab,” said Steven J. DiMeo, President of Mohawk Valley EDGE. “New York State and specifically Upstate New York has a flourishing nanotechnology and advanced computing ecosystem, leveraged by its rich manufacturing heritage. We want to recognize and thank Cree | Wolfspeed for selecting Marcy Nanocenter as the site for their game-changing investments and contributing to the developing power electronics ecosystem.
Gregg Lowe, CEO Cree | Wolfspeed shared his congratulations, “We congratulate Mohawk Valley EDGE for this recognition and are honored to play a role in the economic development of the Mohawk Valley region as part of our long-term commitment to the community. Cree | Wolfspeed is proud of the team and our partners like Mohawk Valley EDGE for the tremendous progress achieved in such a short period of time. We look forward to further supporting the area’s workforce as we begin production at the world’s first 200mm Silicon Carbide fab early next year. For more than 30 years, NYSEDC has been the state’s principal organization representing economic development professionals, colleges and universities, and public-sector enterprises. Its members include IDAs, local development corporations (LDCs), banks, underwriters, bond counsels, utilities, chambers of commerce, real estate developers, business incubators, workforce organizations, and private corporations. The NYSEDC Economic Development Awards program recognizes the state’s best economic development programs and partnerships, marketing materials, influential leaders, and rising stars. These awards honor organizations and individuals for their efforts in creating positive change in urban, suburban, and rural communities.
About the NYSEDC: The New York State Economic Development Council is the state’s principal, nonprofit membership organization representing public, private, and nonprofit economic development professionals. Its mission is to provide strong leadership that delivers cost-effective value to members through advocacy, professional development, communications, and networking. NYSEDC has been serving New York’s economic development professionals for more than 30 years. Its 900+ members work to build vibrant, diverse, and sustainable communities throughout New York state.
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