Edwards Vacuum has completed construction of a $319 million dry-pump manufacturing facility in Genesee County, adding a domestic supplier for the semiconductor industry. The project is expected to create up to 600 jobs in the Finger Lakes region.
The 240,000-square-foot campus is at the Western New York Science & Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park, known as STAMP, in the Town of Alabama. It includes manufacturing, warehouse and administrative space and can produce 10,000 dry pumps a year, according to a state announcement.
The pumps help control the highly sensitive conditions required to manufacture computer chips. Edwards, a British-based company within the Atlas Copco Group, said U.S. production will shorten customer wait times and improve responsiveness.
The all-electric facility will seek LEED certification, with most of its electricity generated through hydropower. Edwards estimates that operating the plant will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 13,000 tons annually through domestic production.
Empire State Development awarded the company up to $21 million in performance-based Excelsior Jobs and investment tax credits tied to creating as many as 600 jobs. Another $1 million supports workforce development and training.
The New York Power Authority is providing 4.9 megawatts of low-cost Niagara hydropower and procuring another 2.1 megawatts of high-load-factor power on the energy market. U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer said the project also received $18 million in federal CHIPS funding.
The company selected New York after passage of the federal CHIPS and Science Act and the state's Green CHIPS legislation. Officials linked the investment to growing domestic chip production, including Micron's planned Central New York development.
Dan Papsidero, general manager of Edwards' Genesee operation, said the investment reflects confidence in the semiconductor industry's future and the region's workforce. Atlas Copco Semiconductor Division President Martin Tollner said the facility will strengthen the domestic supply chain as chipmakers expand U.S. production.
The state has also selected the Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley and Capital regions for planning under its $200 million ON-RAMP advanced-manufacturing workforce initiative. They join Central New York, where Syracuse is the flagship location, in developing training centers connected to internships, apprenticeships and employment.
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