Berkshires Looks for Regional Ties to Chip Manufacturer
 Travis Bullard of GlobalFoundries. Below, an artist rendering of the facility. 
Want to keep up with the project's progress?The Times-Union keeps a blog here. |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A massive semiconductor plant being built more than an hour away in New York State is being envisioned as an ecomonic catalyst for the Berkshires.
GlobalFoundries, a joint venture between Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), the world's second-largest manufacture of computer processors, and Advanced Technology Investment Co., is scheduled to break ground for a $4 billion manufacturing and research center in Malta in July.
Within four years, the company expects to employ up to 1,400 people and generate up to 5,000 jobs in secondary and ancillary businesses around the region, said Travis Bullard, public affairs and communications manager for GlobalFoundries, at a presentation Friday morning at Berkshire Community College.
"We totally subscribe to regionalization," Bullard told a gathering from the county's towns and educational institutions. "This project is not about one town or one county or one state. ... We think it has special significance to this country. This type of project is going to draw on the talents of people from across the globe."
Berkshire County leaders see it as the perfect example of developing cross-border economic strategies, one that will tap into the region's skilled work force and technical training.
"I think that's what makes this opportunity so compelling for all of us is the regional economic potential created by having a product like that discussed here today," said David Rooney, president of the Berkshire Economic Development Corp. "This supersedes state borders in my mind and with Massachusetts itself home to more than 80 semiconductor supply companies ... and also home to an AMD design center, so it's entirely possible that in the near future, chips designed here in Massachusetts will be manufactured just over the border in upstate New York.
"That's a powerful regional statement in and of itself. That's why we all stand to benefit from this company being successful."
 The building to the far left, 'Fab 2, Module 1,' is being constructed with room for two more as needed. |
| Fun Facts |
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■ The site covers 222 acres. ■ It will take about 5 million man-hours, as many as for the Empire State Building, to complete the first module of "Fab 2." (Fab 1 is in Dresden.) ■ It will use 60,000 cubic yards of concrete and contain 75 miles of pipes - enough to connect Malta to Pittsfield. ■ The facility's clean room will be 10,000 times cleaner than an operating room. ■ The four buildings making up the first module will be constructed to gain LEED certification for being green.
Source: GlobalFoundries
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The Berkshires has been following the progress of the wafer facility for several years as it's gone through the siting and permitting process; GlobalFoundries itself was spun off from AMD in March to take over its manufacturing operations, including its main plant in Dresden, Germany.
With the first phase of construction set to start this year, Rooney and BCC President Paul Raverta made contact to ensure the Berkshires wasn't left out of the regional partnerships GlobalFoundries was exploring.
Bullard said the 1,400-acre Luther Forest Technology Campus in Malta was selected on the basis of the surrounding educational resources ("some of the most revered ... in the world"), an eco-system for supplying materials and economics for the incentive package offered by New York.
The company is exploring partnerships with local colleges, including working out curriculum and course changes with Hudson Valley Community College in Rensselaer County.
"We will be expanding our partnerships with community colleges and universities in the area to see where we need to fill the gap in building our work force for the immediate future as well as for the long term," said Emily Reilly, senior human resources manager.
Positions will run the gamut from technicians to doctorates: fabricators, engineers, administrators, marketers, customer service representatives, researchers. The average annual salary will be $60,000 a year. The company also plans to offer internships and co-ops to help develop the skill sets needed for both high school and college students.
She stressed that integrity, teamwork and the ability to work within a diverse work force will essential for all potential employees.
Raverta said BCC is already examining courses to see what modifications may be made.
"We have engineering, and computers, and have manufacturing here already and we're looking at adding the courses needed and the facilities needed to do the thin-film technology work needed at GlobalFoundries," he said. "This will be a regional effort."
Construction on the 1.3 million square-foot "green" complex should benefit about 4,200 construction and related jobs over the next year to 18 months, said Bullard. The bulk of the work force should be in place by 2013, pumping $290 million a year into the regional economy.
Long-range plans call for developing secondary customers beyond AMD and, possibly, tripling the size of the complex that will equal New York's Chrysler Building in square-footage upon completion.
The success could mean the creation or relocation of suppliers for the facility into the Berkshires, such as the lonely William Stanley Business Park, once the site of GE, the Berkshires' biggest employer.
"I could very well envision the support business we require would look at a site like that," he said. "It's not that far."
Despite the downturn in chip demand because of the global financial crisis, Bullard said the future of the industry is assured.
"Do you expect technology to be more or less a part of your life in the future?" he asked. "We don't see any reason for that to decline over time. The industry may look very different after the [economic] corrections but we have every reason to believe semiconductor demand will increase."
There are no concrete collaborations yet, but that may change as time goes on and the new fabrication plant begins ramping up production.
"We think we're exactly at the right time and at the right place we need to be at this moment and we'll be ready," said Raverta.
