SUNY Polytechnic Institute
photo courtesy of Governor Cuomo's Office
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A North Carolina based company will invest $1 billion in construction, equipment and other related costs to build the world's largest silicon carbide device manufacturing facility in Marcy, NY.

Cree, Incorporated - an innovator of Wolfspeed power and radio frequency semiconductors and lighting class LEDs - announced its plans on Monday morning on its website.

The official announcement was made on Monday afternoon at SUNY Poly in Marcy.

Governor Andrew Cuomo was unable to make it in person due to transportation issues and made the announcement over the telephone.

"This partnership is vital to strengthening the research and scientific assets that New York State needs today to attract the high-tech industries and jobs of tomorrow," Cuomo said. "This is a crucial step in cultivating the advanced manufacturing infrastructure of New York State, growing the upstate economy and transforming the future of the Mohawk Valley.

Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente said, "Today is the day that our unwavering commitment to bringing a chip fab to the Marcy Nanosite has been rewarded. Where others have doubted, we remained dedicated to the development of our investment, and the years of perseverance have resulted in a partnership with a global leader in silicon carbide wafer technology. I want to welcome Cree to Oneida County and thank them for this monumental investment in our community that will result in more than 600 well-paying jobs. This transformational announcement could not have been possible without the ironclad commitment Governor Cuomo made to our region by keeping the funding in place that made it a reality, nor without the diligence of our partners at Mohawk Valley EDGE who never gave up in their pursuit."

''With a mega materials factory in Durham and a state-of-the-art wafer fabrication facility near Utica, Cree will establish a “silicon carbide corridor”, leveraging its 30-year heritage of research and development in the Research Triangle of North Carolina and tapping into the rich technological base of resources situated in New York’s Mohawk Valley. Cree plans to partner with local community and four-year colleges in North Carolina and New York to develop training and internship programs to prepare its workforce for the high-tech employment and long-term growth opportunities in both locations that the company’s revised expansion plan presents'', according to the news release on its site.

As a result, Cree will continue to drive the transition from silicon to silicon carbide technology to meet the increasing demand for the company’s groundbreaking Wolfspeed technology that supports the growing electric vehicle (EV), 4G/5G mobile and industrial markets.

“Silicon carbide is one of the most pivotal technologies of our time, and is at the heart of enabling innovation across a wide range of today’s most groundbreaking and revolutionary markets, including the transition from the internal combustion engine to electric vehicles and the rollout of ultra-fast 5G networks,” said Gregg Lowe, CEO of Cree. “This state-of-the-art, automotive-qualified wafer fabrication facility builds on our 30-year heritage of commercializing breakthrough technologies that help our customers deliver next-generation applications. We look forward to connecting our North Carolina and New York innovation hubs to drive the accelerated adoption of silicon carbide.”

New York State will provide a $500 million grant from Empire State Development, and Cree will also be eligible for additional local incentives.

Cree has committed to creating over 600 new jobs  with an average salary of $75,000 a year, within eight years

Construction on the facility is expected to begin in the spring of 2020 and is scheduled for completion in 2022.

State Senate Deputy Minority Leader Joseph Griffo released the following statement today regarding Cree Inc.’s plans to construct a manufacturing facility in Marcy:

“I appreciate the efforts of all the local, county and state elected officials, as well as Mohawk Valley EDGE and Empire State Development, who worked together to make this project happen. Today’s announcement is a significant step in our efforts to create jobs, grow the local economy and generate future economic opportunity and development in the Mohawk Valley and Upstate New York. While I remain cognizant of the obstacles, roadblocks and issues that we encountered in getting to this point, I am hopeful that this latest development will contribute to economic growth throughout the region and help to move it forward.”

Congressman Anthony Brindisi issued the following statement after Cree Incorporated announced their planned $1 billion investment in Marcy’s Nanocenter:

"The big winners today are the people that call our area home. Cree’s decision to expand its manufacturing facility in Marcy next to the SUNY Poly Campus will ensure we continue to be at the forefront of high-tech manufacturing and provide more good paying jobs for our residents. I want to thank Governor Cuomo for keeping his commitment to our community and for working to make the Mohawk Valley an even better place to live.”

Oneida Executive candidate Michael Hennessy issued the following statement on the Cree announcement:

The Governor and Tony Picente are making more promises today, They are celebrating bringing old technology to Marcy, meanwhile Google just announced this morning a major leap in their quantum-computing technology which is the future of computers. Quantum computing, when it even uses silicone, uses PURE silicone, not silicone-carbide like the proposed Marcy site would produce. Again we are late to the table. By the time this site is built, it will be obsolete. Oneida County deserves better."

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