8/18/2011 5:59:00 AM

At groundbreaking for new high-tech Moser Baer lighting facility that will create 60 new jobs, Schumer unveils major push to make CNSE's STC in Canandaigua a chip fab manufacturing center

http://schumer.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=333842&

Event photos

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 18, 2011                                                                                                                    

CONTACT: Matt House  (202) 224-7433                                                                                                                                                                     

Schumer Announces New Effort To Have The Department Of Defense Bring Millions Of Dollars Of Future High-Tech Chip Fab Work To CNSE’s STC in Canandaigua

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Moser Baer high-tech OLED lighting manufacturing facility that will immediately add nearly 60 new jobs to the local economy. Thanks to private investment from the company, state matching funds, and a $3 million grant secured by Senator Schumer, Moser Baer has plans to renovate a 9,400 square foot portion of the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering's (CNSE) Smart System Technology and Commercialization Center of Excellence (STC) into the new home for the production of Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) lighting panels. After construction is completed in January 2012, Moser Baer has a long-term growth plan to expand and create an additional 150 jobs at the facility. Senator Schumer also announced his new effort to have the Department of Defense establish a $30 million secure chip fabrication facility at CNSE’s STC center in Canandaigua, in conjunction with the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany.

“Today, we’re flipping on the OLED lights and creating 60 new high-tech manufacturing jobs right here in Canandaigua at the CNSE’s STC,” said Schumer. “I am thrilled to be part of CNSE’s STC groundbreaking of this cutting-edge private sector manufacturing project that will be a huge economic asset to the region and will spur local job growth. I also stand here today to urge the Defense Department to bring their new secure chip fabrication facility to CNSE’s STC. The CNSE facility in Canandaigua and Albany together form the most advanced chip development capability in the world, and I will fight tooth and nail for it to become home to the new $30 million Secure Chip Foundry plant that the Defense Department is hoping to establish next year.”

In 2010, Schumer successfully pushed to secure a $3 million grant through the Economic Development Agency, which has made the Moser Baer OLED lighting manufacturing facility a reality. Moser Baer, an Indian-owned company, is investing $17 million in private funding to establish its OLED lighting manufacturing facility at the CNSE’s STC. In conjunction with this private investment and state matching funds, the EDA funding will allow the CNSE’s STC to convert a 9,400 square foot section of the CNSE’s STC center into a location for Moser Baer’s production of Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) lighting panels. This project will add 59 new jobs to the Canandaigua CNSE’s STC.

In 2007, CNSE’s STC was awarded a $3 million Economic Development Agency (EDA) grant, but could not officially receive the funding due to an inability to line up matching private funds, which is a required condition of the EDA grant. For several years, CNSE’s STC sought to line up the appropriate private investment, finally culminating in Moser Baer’s commitment to invest $17 million in its private capital to create the OLED manufacturing facility at the CNSE STC, which would have otherwise met the EDA’s local matching fund requirement. However, construction could not begin until 2011 at which point, there was the strong chance that the EDA competitive funding would no longer be available. Schumer personally called John Fernandez, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development at the Commerce Department, to urge him to approve an extension on the grant.  Senator Schumer also worked with CNSE’s STC and the EDA to make sure that the high-tech center met all of the EDA’s required rigorous benchmarks in order to approve the extension. Ultimately, Schumer’s negotiations were successful, and the $3 million EDA grant was provided to CNSE’s STC. The receipt of this EDA investment that Schumer helped secure, provided a key turning point needed to renovate the CNSE STC in order to land Moser Baer and its nearly 60 jobs for Canandaigua.

Schumer noted that the EDA grant, in combination with Moser Baer’s private investment and $3.4 million from New York State, brings the total investment in this Canandaigua construction project to over $23 million and will add nearly 60 new jobs.  Schumer also pointed out that upon the success of this pilot OLED manufacturing line, Moser Baer has plans for a Phase II expansion in the future which would create 150 more jobs and $20M-$30M in new facility upgrades and $150M in new equipment. 

Schumer stood with Dr. Alain Kaloyeros and Paul Tolley of the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, John Marshall from the Economic Development Administration, and Gopalan “Raj” Rajeswaran, CEO of Moser Baer Technologies for the groundbreaking ceremony and to announce the effort to bring new economic opportunities to CNSE’s STC center. After this ceremony, construction is expected to continue until January 2012, at which time Moser Baer can begin operations. Moser Baer produces OLED (organic light emitting diodes) which offer increased energy efficiency, decreased power consumption and an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional incandescent and compact fluorescent light bulbs. 

“On behalf of the UAlbany NanoCollege, I applaud the determined leadership and staunch advocacy of New York’s Senior Senator, Charles Schumer, who championed the effort to secure critical federal funding that will enable the continued growth of CNSE’s Smart System Technology and Commercialization Center of Excellence,” said Dr. Alain E. Kaloyeros, Senior Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of CNSE. “Together with the visionary support and strong advocacy of Governor Andrew Cuomo, through matching funds provided by Empire State Development, and the significant and growing private investment from Moser Baer Technologies, this public-private partnership will drive innovative solid-state lighting technologies, create high-tech high-paying jobs, and further establish CNSE’s STC and the Greater Rochester Region as a home for 21st century technologies and green collar jobs in New York’s growing nanotechnology economy.”

“We are excited to reach this important milestone as we begin construction of the world’s first pilot line for organic light-emitting diode lighting panels at CNSE’s Smart System Technology and Commercialization Center of Excellence,” said Paul Tolley, CNSE Vice President for Disruptive Technologies and Executive Director of CNSE’s STC. “ Thanks to the tireless efforts of Senator Schumer in securing the federal Economic Development Administration grant, combined with the ongoing support of Empire State Development, Moser Baer Technologies is strengthening its partnership with CNSE’s STC, reinforcing both our commitment and ability to advance cutting-edge technologies that serve the critical needs of leading global high-tech companies.”

“The ability of CNSE’s Smart System Technology and Commercialization Center to provide the high-tech clean room infrastructure, technical assistance and building support services needed for Moser Baer Technologies’ OLED lighting pilot line operations was the critical factor that swung our decision to do this project here in the Canandaigua area,” said MBT CEO Dr. G. Rajeswaran. “The financial assistance provided to STC by the US Department of Commerce's Economic Development Agency and by New York State’s Empire State Development Corporation has enabled this project to go forward and create high-tech manufacturing jobs in this community; we greatly appreciate the vision of Senator Schumer, CNSE and ESDC in supporting this project.”

Also, during Schumer’s visit he announced that he is making a major push to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to establish the Department of Defense’s 90 nanometer computer chip Secure Foundry at the College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering centers in Albany and Canandaigua. In a personal call to Secretary Panetta, Schumer stated that CNSE and CNSE STC together make the most advanced chip development facility in the world, and would be an ideal home to DOD’s $30 million Secure Chip Foundry plant. DOD is also considering a facility in Sacramento, CA, but Schumer noted that the CNSE can support production of the most cutting-edge and cost-effective chips that require the use of 300 millimeter wafer productions tools, whereas the Sacramento facility cannot.

Schumer also pointed out to Secretary Panetta that the CNSE, drawing on its facilities in Albany and Canandaigua, is a better fit for the Department of Defense and would be ready to produce 90 nanometer chips much faster and more economically than the current DOD proposal being considered.  In terms of cost, Schumer noted that the industrial supply chain has moved to the 300 millimeter wafer production, so the DOD would struggle to acquire “off the shelf” tool sets to support the obsolete 200 millimeter production, and could end up paying more for obsolete technology. Schumer also drew attention to the safety and security of the CNSE facilities, as the CNSE’s STC is already a DOD accredited trusted Foundry for MEMs (micro-electrical-mechanical-system) technology, and the CNSE Albany facility is now in the Trusted Foundry Certification Process and expects to complete its certification shortly.  

Finally, Schumer noted that together the CNSE facilities can serve as a One-Stop Shop for Department of Defense 90 nanometer chip technology and production, in a way that the Sacramento facility cannot.  The CNSE is a Lab-to-Fab solution with over $50M of assets and infrastructure in Canandaigua, immediately available and designated for producing and advancing chip technology.  Schumer told the Defense Secretary that CNSE can respond to the DOD’s particular needs to produce chips on demand as needed, and can meet DOD’s needs of ultra-low volumes, extended availability timeframes, and critical security concerns.  

The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering’s Smart System Technology and Commercialization Center  is an incubator for high-tech business in Ontario county, formed by a consortium of industry and government to promote economic growth through world-class high tech innovation. The technology is essential to satisfy the growing technical demands in security, defense, medical, transportation, industrial, consumer electronics, telecom and more.

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