After missing 200 mm boat, New York wants to be home to 300 mm fabs

After seeing other regions successfully fashion themselves as second and third versions of Silicon Valley, New York says it wants to do the same, and is banking on a 300-mm upswing to make its mark.

“We`re targeting those companies who are trying to make that transition from 200 mm to 300 mm,” said Anthony Quenelle, director of industry development, strategic business division, with New York`s Empire State Development office. “We weren`t as aggressive as we should have been in the semiconductor industry (in the past). When the industry went into a trough, it gave us the time to get our act together.”

In late 1997, the state, under the lead of Governor George Pataki, began its Semiconductor Manufacturing Initiative (semi-NY), an effort to make the state a chipmaking hub. The initiative, similar to initiatives offered by other states and regions interested in wooing chipmakers, aims to offer eased permitting processes, access to a skilled workforce, and economic incentives, including a reduction from 9 percent to 7.5 percent in the corporate income tax rate beginning in July 1999.

New York has also undertaken a number of reforms to lower the cost of doing business in the state; the development office notes that in 1997 the state was home to 809 new or expanded corporate facilities, up from 75 in 1994.

Quenelle said there are about 10 sites, each with 200 or more acres, available as potential fab locations. Four to five of the sites are close to completing a pre-permitting process that will pre-approve the sites for a generic 300-mm fab at full use. The pre-permitting process, Quenelle notes, should help significantly reduce the time a company would have to wait before beginning a construction project.

More information about the initiative can be found at www.semi-NY.com. Quenelle said the site will soon offer about 125 to 150 pages of detailed information on the sites and site selection.

Reprinted from WaferNews, a weekly newsletter published by PennWell covering the semiconductor equipment and materials community. For information on subscriptions, check the web at www.wafernews.com, or contact Jill Wood at 603/891-9174, fax 603/891-0597, or e-mail [email protected].