Talk It Up ROCHESTER
G R E A T E R R O C H E S T E R , N .Y. W H E R E S M A R T P E O P L E L I V E A N D S M A R T B U S I N E S S E S G R O W.
Greater Rochester Enterprise
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American Institute
for Manufacturing
Integrated Photonics
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CentriLogic Expands in Rochester
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Rochester’s Future in
Advanced Manufacturing
LANDMARK WIN FOR
GREATER ROCHESTER
REGION EXPECTED TO
BRING 1,000 JOBS
Solar wafer manufacturer 1366 Technologies has
chosen the Greater Rochester region for its new
manufacturing operations, which will eventually
create 1,000 jobs at the Science & Technology
Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP) in
Genesee County.
This is the largest business attraction project
Greater Rochester Enterprise (GRE) and the
Genesee County Economic Development Center
(GCEDC) have ever managed and secured.
1366 Technologies will build a 3GW wafer facility
with a methodical phased approach, starting
with a 250MW facility. Over the course of
the multi-phase project, 1366 will invest
approximately $700 million, including a
$100 million initial investment, becoming the
largest economic development project in the
history of Genesee County.
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“This win represents tremendous collaboration
between Western New York and Rochester-area
economic development partners who employed
a multi-regional approach to support this project
via Gov. Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development
Council process,” says Mark S. Peterson, president
and CEO of GRE.
The team at GCEDC led the development of STAMP,
which played a significant role in attracting
1366 Technologies.
“The assets available at STAMP make it the perfect
choice for 1366 Technologies,” says Steve Hyde,
president of GCEDC. “From millions of gallons of
available water to low-cost power to proximity
to high-quality talent from two of the largest
upstate New York cities, the mega site has so
much to offer.”
Fall / W inter 2015
Cuomo and Empire
State Development
joined the
regional economic
development
organizations in
pursuing this project
with a competitive
incentive package.
“This announcement
is an example of how
we are combining
this region’s natural
1366 Technologies
CEO Frank van Mierlo
strengths with our
announces expansion plans.
vision to develop
New York’s entrepreneurial future and make the
Empire State a true leader in developing the clean
energy technologies of tomorrow,” Cuomo says.
1366 Technologies, which was named one of the
world’s 10 most innovative energy companies by
Fast Company, aims to drive down the cost of solar
electricity. According to 1366 CEO Frank van Mierlo,
the company’s technology has the potential to
revolutionize the industry.
“The technology is ready and 1366 is squarely
positioned to lead in an industry undergoing rapid
global growth,” he says. “We are extremely proud to
become part of the Upstate New York community
and are committed to the Finger Lakes region’s
vibrant future.”
While 1366 Technologies becomes the first
and anchor tenant at STAMP, several other
companies are already exploring expansion
projects at the site.
STAMP’s unique combination of benefits makes it
a competitive site when compared to similar sites
across the country. It has 1,250 acres of useable
property. It’s located between Rochester and
Buffalo, offering companies the opportunity to draw
talent from two workforce powerhouses, and there’s
access to an abundant supply of fresh water.
Rochester, N.Y. Selected as Site for American
Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics
Rochester is internationally known as the Imaging Capital of the World
and is home to the oldest and largest hub for photonics manufacturing
in the U.S.
With over 110 companies present regionally in the optics, photonics and
imaging space, the Rochester region became the most attractive site for
AIM Photonics.
This past summer, Vice President Joe Biden visited Rochester and joined
New York State Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to announce that the city was
selected by the Department of Defense to lead a prestigious multi-state
Integrated Photonics Institute for Manufacturing Innovation.
The region is solidly positioned as a global leader in this sector as a
result of unparalleled assets, many of which were established by legacy
companies. When considering Rochester, executives are introduced to
a robust local supply chain that helps companies grow quickly and with
more agility, deep local technological expertise, cutting-edge research,
pre-eminent academic institutions, and a creative and talented workforce.
This has put the region at the top of the list for expansion in this
industry sector.
The new American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics (AIM
Photonics) will be headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., and will bring the
nation’s leading talent from companies, universities and federal research
institutions together under one entity to develop the next generation of
integrated photonics and deliver global manufacturing leadership.
“This is historic,” University of Rochester President and CEO Joel Seligman
says. “AIM Photonics will provide and empower the absolute best talent,
sustainable relationships and infrastructure required to capture and
sustain U.S. global leadership in this critical industry. As the headquarters
for this new institute, Rochester is uniquely positioned to support this
growth. Now, together with our partners, our work truly begins.”
AIM Photonics includes committed participation of the nation’s largest
investors and users of PIC technology from the nation’s top industrial
companies, such as Boeing, Corning, GE, Harris Corporation, HewlettPackard, Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, IBM, United Technologies and more.
The selection was part of a White House initiative to secure the United
States’ global leadership in emerging technology research, development
and manufacturing. Photonics harnesses the power of light to move
data at great speeds, and the research done at the new Institute will
integrate photonics components to revolutionize computer chips, making
them faster, smaller and more reliable with a wide range of applications,
including medical technology, defense, telecommunications, the Internet
and information technology.
A $110 million federal grant awarded to AIM Photonics will support
a high-tech consortium with business operations, a company
incubator and accelerator, workforce training and a board of directors
headquartered in Rochester. Public and private investment in AIM
Photonics will exceed $600 million, including more than $250 million
by New York State to equip, install and make operational a state-of-theart photonics prototyping operation. The institute’s work will create and
support thousands of advanced research and manufacturing jobs across
upstate and the United States, and lead to major advances within a wide
range of practical applications.
Vice President Joe Biden announces that a national institute to strengthen the U.S.
photonics manufacturing industry will be headquartered in Rochester.
CentriLogic Expands in Rochester
CentriLogic, a global provider of managed
hosting, cloud computing and advanced IT
outsourcing solutions, recently announced
expansion plans in Rochester. The company
has operated a data center in the Rochester
region since 2007, a location that has proven to
be highly productive.
CentriLogic recently invested $2.5 million to
build out an additional 5,300-square-foot data
center at its 22,000-square-foot facility. A
recent, significant customer win coupled with
increasing demand from local, national and
international enterprises looking for reliable
and secure data-center facilities prompted the
expansion.
The Rochester site is one of CentriLogic’s
largest data centers, servicing local enterprise
customers such as Delaware North, Kodak
Alaris and Bausch & Lomb (now Valeant).
“Access to skilled technical people from RIT
and other large organizations is one of the key
reasons we chose to expand in Rochester,”
says Robert Levine, chief financial officer,
CentriLogic. “Rochester is also a safe and
secure region for data centers, with reliable
power and infrastructure, a stable climate
with low risk for natural disasters, and close
proximity to major trading centers.”
The facility currently employs 25, with
plans to expand staff by 15 over the next
12 months. CentriLogic owns and operates
10 interconnected data centers throughout
North America, Europe and Asia, and recently
achieved five-year revenue growth of 1,217%.
INDUSTRIAL LEGACY DRIVES ROCHESTER’S
FUTURE IN ADVANCED MANUFACTURING
America’s greatest cities have had to prove their resilience, as the new
economy imposed unexpected challenges. They relied on their industrial
legacy, combined with grit and innovation, to reimagine their local
economies and reinvent their identities.
That’s been the story we’ve seen right here in Rochester, the latest city to
advance its revitalization by relying on its legacy — think Pittsburgh, Pa.;
Toledo, Ohio; and even Detroit, Mich.
“For decades, Rochester was known as one of the great manufacturing
cities in the United States,” says Mark S. Peterson, president and
CEO of Greater Rochester Enterprise. “It will again be one of the great
manufacturing cities as a result of reusing industrial properties like the
former Kodak Park, now known as Eastman Business Park (EBP).”
Kodak may have far fewer employees than it once did, but it has provided
the region with a unique opportunity to attract a diverse array of new
businesses that can capitalize on the iconic company’s legacy assets.
EBP has, as the Associated Press put it, taken on the new role of “startup
landlord.”
Industrial resources, which drove Kodak’s success for years, have been
retooled and reinvigorated, and its highly skilled workforce is generating
new innovations.
Manufacturing facilities once used for film and cameras are now producing
everything from batteries to beet juice — which a new business venture at
EBP, Love Beets USA, will be producing in mass quantities and distributing
across the country.
Love Beets USA is the result of a partnership between LiDestri Foods and
U.K.-based G’s Fresh. This $17 million venture is slated to create 50 new
full-time positions by year’s end, increasing to 140 within five years.
“They saw an opportunity with the LiDestri properties, with LiDestri as the
partner for manufacturing, specifically at the Eastman Business Park,”
says Dave Stoklosa, managing director, Love Beets.
“It was almost too good to be true,” says Joe McGuire, general manager of
Love Beets USA, when considering the advantages the region presented
the company.
“It’s a great match for Love Beets USA,” Peterson says. “It’s a great
match for many different kinds of companies that can benefit from the
infrastructure and opportunities at Eastman Business Park.”
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
When I first started at GRE more
than 10 years ago we talked
about filling our project pipeline
with the hope of landing
business attraction projects
that would bring new jobs to our
community. The complexity of
attracting a major new company,
as well as the intense level of
competition from other regions,
states and countries, made
the task all the more daunting. So the news that we’ve just
attracted solar wafer manufacturer 1366 Technologies to our
region is honestly a dream come true.
Credit goes to our partners at Genesee County Economic
Development Center (GCEDC), who had the vision of creating
the Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing
Park (STAMP) as a mega site with an abundance of assets,
including low-cost clean-energy hydropower, water and
access to a talented workforce. Its strategic location between
Buffalo and Rochester enables companies to draw from
the labor shed of both markets. This type of park is perfect
for nanotechnology, semiconductor and energyinnovation companies.
This truly was a multi-regional collaboration between our
team at GRE, GCEDC, Buffalo Niagara Enterprise, Empire
State Development, the Finger Lakes Regional Economic
Development Council, Western New York Economic
Development Council, and the labor unions of Rochester and
Buffalo. Each entity recognized that the creation of STAMP
and the successful attraction of next-generation technology
companies, such as 1366 Technologies, would be a game
changer for our communities.
It’s a bit of a Field of Dreams approach. STAMP was designed
with the hope that if we build it, they will come. We are
grateful that 1366 Technologies agreed to be the first anchor
tenant at the park. Their innovative solar wafer technology
will disrupt the solar-energy market, and their decision to
expand here will disrupt our markets, too, in an incredibly
positive way. Our initial analysis showed that the creation
of 1,000 new jobs over the next five years will result in an
economic impact of more than $4.3 billion. This is likely a
conservative estimate based on the additional interest we’re
seeing from other companies that are intrigued by the unique
assets we may offer them at STAMP.
This project marks our largest to date. I have a feeling it is the
beginning of many great new projects to come!
Best Regards,
The opportunities available at EBP — and how they’re driving Rochester’s
growth in advanced manufacturing — are featured in a video GRE recently
released, titled “A City’s Future Built on Kodak’s Legacy.”
To view this video, visit youtube.com/RochesterBiz
Mark S. Peterson
President & CEO
Greater Rochester Enterprise
Greater Rochester Enterprise Foundation, Inc.
100 Chestnut Street
One HSBC Plaza, Suite 1910
Rochester, NY 14604
CONTACT US
The Greater Rochester Enterprise team is here to help you grow your business in the Rochester, N.Y. Region.
Call us at 585-530-6200 or email us at Info@RochesterBiz.com.
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WET
& WILD
With 7% of the world’s fresh water, we’ve got all the wet stuff you need for agriculture, food processing and
advanced manufacturing—with no water rationing or water rights fees. That’s why industry leaders like LiDestri Foods,
1366 Technologies and Muller Quaker Dairy have chosen to expand here. So go wild and jump in—the water’s fantastic.
GET IT ON IN THE GREATER ROCHESTER, N.Y. REGION