Thursday, 10 January 2013 19:37
GlobalFoundries announces $2 billion research and development facility
MALTA – In a move that will bring 1,000 new, permanent high tech jobs to the greater Saratoga region, GlobalFoundries announced January 8 that they will be bringing a $2 billion research and development facility to its Malta-based Fab-8 plant. The Technology Development Center (TDC) is envisioned by the microchip manufacturer as a resource to develop new innovation, in hopes of providing their customers with cutting edge technology. The move drives the company’s total capital investment in the plant to more than $8 billion.
Construction on the facility is currently projected to begin early this year, and hopes to be completed by the end of 2014. The TDC will feature over 500,000 square feet of versatile space designed to bolster the company’s technology development and manufacturing capabilities, including cleanroom and laboratory space.
"As the industry shifts from the [personal computer] era to a market focused on mobile devices, we have seen increasingly strong interest from customers in migrating to advanced nodes on an accelerated schedule," said GlobalFoundries CEO Ajit Manocha, in a statement released on the company’s website.
He continued, “To help facilitate this migration, we are making significant investments in strengthening our technology leadership, including growing our workforce and adding new capabilities to make Fab 8 the hub of our global technology operations. New York State's continued support of the semiconductor industry has created a strong collaborative ecosystem and helped pave the way for this additional investment. The new TDC will help us bridge between the lab and the fab by taking research conducted with partners and further developing the technologies to make them ready for volume manufacturing."
The hope for the TDC is that it will be able to produce “end to end solutions covering the full spectrum of silicon technology,” including new ways that their microchips interact, as well as how they’re shipped.
Governor Andrew Cuomo acknowledged that the investments made in nanotechnology all across New York State are paying dividends, adding that the high-paying jobs and economic growth were “essential to rebuilding our state.”
GlobalFoundries currently employs over 2,000 people at the Fab 8 plant, and expects that number to grow to 3,000 by the end of 2014.
"New York has become the world's hub for advanced semiconductor research and now, the Technology Development Center will further help ensure the innovations developed in New York, in collaboration with our research institutions, are manufactured in New York,” said Governor Cuomo.
