Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon joined Gov. Kathy Hochul and business and civic leaders from throughout the Mohawk Valley to celebrate the official opening of Wolfspeed’s Mohawk Valley Fab in Marcy. The plant, which will produce 200mm silicon carbide wafers, a key computer component, and is the only facility in the world manufacturing wafers of this size from silicon carbide.

“I was pleased to join the Governor for the grand opening of this facility and see this important economic development investment pay off.Technology is advancing quickly, and computer chips are an essential part of so many industrial and consumer products. I’m proud that this cutting-edge manufacturing facility is opening in our region. It’s exciting to see a plant in our community producing next generation silicon carbide products.The Mohawk Valley offers tremendous resources for advanced manufacturing with young scientists and engineers being trained nearby at SUNY Poly and advanced research taking place at the US Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, this community represents an ideal ecosystem for high tech manufacturing. I look forward to the next developments in this field.”

Wolfspeed, a North Carolina-based firm, announced plans to build the fabrication plant in Marcy in 2019. A $500 million New York State grant from Empire State Development helped build the facility, the company invested another $1 billion for construction. The project is expected to create 600 jobs over eight years. The firm plans to produce the specialized wafers for use in electric vehicles and the equipment that enables 5G networks.