10/8/2011 9:41:00 AM

Gannett News: Region seeks growth spark

Gannett News

Nanotech research may be catalyst for economic revival, business leaders say
by Joseph Spector Gannett Albany Bureau Chief

Published 01:25 a.m., Saturday, October 8, 2011
ALBANY -- Just days after last month's $4.8 billion mega-deal between the state and IBM, Intel and other hi-tech firms, a technology center in Canandaigua, Ontario County, started receiving inquiries from companies interested in locating there.

And just days before the announcement, companies from the Hudson Valley toured the GlobalFoundries plant in Saratoga County in hopes of building partnerships with the new $4.6 billion computer chip factory.

The activity signals how New York has become a leader in research and development of nanotechnology that could provide the backbone for growth in the stagnant upstate economy, business leaders said.

It comes at a needed time. Consumer confidence has fallen in the state, a Siena College survey found this month. In August, the state's unemployment rate was 7.7 percent, down from 8.3 percent a year ago. The national unemployment rate was 9.1 percent last month.

The announcement with IBM and Intel is expected to create 2,500 new jobs across the Hudson Valley and west along the Thruway in Utica and Canandaigua.
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