A new manufacturing facility in Western New York is set to expand U.S. production capacity for semiconductor equipment, adding a domestic source of dry vacuum pumps used in chip manufacturing. Edwards Vacuum has completed construction of its $319 million facility at the Western New York Science & Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park in the town of Alabama, Genesee County.
The project establishes a 240,000-square-foot manufacturing campus designed to produce up to 10,000 dry pumps annually. The investment is also expected to create up to 600 jobs in the Finger Lakes region.
Edwards Vacuum, a British manufacturer of vacuum and abatement equipment and part of Atlas Copco Group, selected the Western New York site to establish its U.S. dry pump manufacturing operations.
Dry pumps help maintain the controlled environments required for semiconductor production. Locating manufacturing closer to U.S. chip producers is expected to shorten delivery times, improve customer support and reduce emissions associated with product transportation.
The facility is designed to manufacture up to 10,000 pumps per year. Edwards estimates that domestic production could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 13,000 tons annually.
Empire State Development awarded Edwards Vacuum up to $21 million in performance-based Excelsior Jobs Tax Credits and Investment Tax Credits tied to the creation of up to 600 jobs. The state also provided an additional $1 million to support workforce development and employee training.
The New York Power Authority is supporting the facility with a 4.9-megawatt allocation of low-cost Niagara hydropower and a separate 2.1-megawatt High Load Factor power allocation procured through the energy market.
The project follows federal and state initiatives to expand domestic semiconductor manufacturing, including the federal CHIPS and Science Act and New York’s Green CHIPS programme. These initiatives are intended to strengthen the U.S. semiconductor supply chain and attract investment in advanced manufacturing.
The completed campus includes manufacturing, warehouse and administrative areas. The all-electric facility is pursuing LEED certification, with most of its electricity expected to come from hydroelectric power.
The investment also adds manufacturing capacity to a region attracting semiconductor-related development. New York’s broader semiconductor strategy includes Micron’s planned $100 billion investment in Central New York, which is expected to generate nearly 50,000 jobs.
Edwards Vacuum’s facility adds a specialised equipment supplier to New York’s growing semiconductor manufacturing network. The project combines industrial construction, workforce development and dedicated power infrastructure, supporting the expansion of domestic supply chains for advanced chip production.
Source: ESD.
