Tokyo Electron to Locate R&D Center in Albany

ALBANY, NY-New York State’s bid to make Albany a mecca for high technology received a boost late last week when Tokyo Electron Limited announced plans to house an R&D facility within a $300-million high-tech complex under development on the campus of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany here.

The company, the world’s second-largest producer of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, stated that its facilities at the Albany Center of Excellence complex on the SUNY at Albany campus will be in partnership with the Albany NanoTech project. The company’s research and development center will eventually create more than 300 high-tech jobs at the site.

The Tokyo Electron research and development center will allow advanced semiconductor research to be performed on 300mm equipment. The company’s center will be housed in two 300mm wafer cleanroom buildings, the company stated. The first of these buildings is nearing completion and should be open in the spring of next year. The company’s Albany operations will complement and expand current Tokyo Electron global research and development activities, as well as manufacturing capabilities in Austin, Phoenix, and Boston, company officials add. It will also supplement the firm’s participation in leading industry consortiums, such as International SEMATECH, which has plans to build a $400-million facility at the SUNY at Albany campus.

The agreement between Tokyo Electron and the state calls for approximately $300 million in state and industry support over the next seven years. The $100-million state investment will be primarily for capital construction, equipment and specialized tools for research.

Tetsuro Higashi, chief executive officer and president of Tokyo Electron says, “By participating in this center, we will significantly enhance our internal development efforts, ultimately allowing us to shorten the time required to bring critical technology from the research lab to the production floor. This partnership with New York State exemplifies our commitment to providing our customers with production-worthy, enabling technology according to the requirements and timing of their roadmaps.”

Tokyo Electron reported annual worldwide revenues in excess of $5.8 billion in 2001 and more than 10,500 employees. The publicly held company, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is headquartered in Tokyo and has 80 offices in 16 countries that engineer, manufacture, sell and service wafer-processing equipment.

State officials also note that Tokyo Electron and New York State have begun discussions about the possibility of future manufacturing facilities for the firm in the state.