The Launch of GlobalFoundries

Wessner, Charles W.; Howell, Thomas R.

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-21194-3_6

Charles W. Wessner⁵ &
Thomas R. Howell⁶

Part of the book series: International Studies in Entrepreneurship ((ISEN,volume 42))

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Abstract

The construction of the GlobalFoundries wafer fabrication plant in Luther Forest was one of the largest building projects ever undertaken in the United States. The original plans were revised on a number of occasions to expand their scope. Construction was completed on time, notwithstanding numerous challenges, and was characterized by labor peace and the amicable resolution of disputes with local governmental units and residents.

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Notes

1.
“Dirty Work Begins at Site to Level Miles of Earth,” Saratoga Springs, The Saratogian (July 31, 2009); “Construction of Chip Plan Seen as Monumental Effort,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (June 16, 2009).
2.
“GlobalFoundries’ Lead Construction Contractor Gives a Progress Report,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (February 21, 2010).
3.
“More Chips on the Table” Albany, The Times Union (February 9, 2010).
4.
“On the Heels of High-Tech: M+W Group Moving Headquarters to Watervliet Arsenal ,” Saratoga Springs, The Saratogian (February 10, 2010).
5.
“GlobalFoundries Ripple Effect Felt,” Troy, The Record (March 10, 2010).
6.
“Tool Award at Chip Factory,” Albany, The Times Daily Union (July 1, 2010).
7.
“Chip Plant Work Going Well,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (September 2, 2009).
8.
“Factory Site No Longer Just a Forest,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (October 25, 2009).
9.
“Chip Fab Rises in Luther Forest,” Troy, The Record (December 13, 2009).
10.
United & Taylor Welding Supply, a local supplier of welding, safety, and general construction supplies, opened a store (in a trailer) inside Luther Forest and did a brick business supplying construction firms at the site. Schenectady restauranteur Angelo Mazzone was engaged to cater food to construction workers in a large tent on the site. “Chip Fab Work Striking In Its Scope, Complexity,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (February 21, 2010); “Welding Supply Meets Demand,” Saratoga Springs, The Saratogian (March 11, 2010).
11.
“GlobalFoundries Seeking to Expand,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (March 29, 2010).
12.
The expansion plan called for the additional square footage at the manufacturing plant and the adjoining central utility building as well as expansion of the on-site electrical substation. “Board Oks GlobalFoundries Expansion,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (April 21, 2010); “Plan to Enlarge Chip Plan Headed for Fast Approval,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (April 8, 2010).
13.
“Bigger Chip Fab Called No Problem,” Albany, The Times Union (May 4, 2010).
14.
“Chip Fab Office, Jobs on Way,” Albany, The Times Union (February 19, 2011).
15.
“GlobalFoundries Builds With Future in Mind,” Albany, The Times Union (February 24, 2011).
16.
“GlobalFoundries Building Plan Gets OK,” Albany, The Times Union (March 16, 2011).
17.
“Second Major Office Building OK’d for GlobalFoundries,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (March 17, 2011).
18.
“Silicon Valley, Meet Organized Labor,” New York (October 7, 2014).
19.
David Bacon, Organizing Silicon Valley’s High Tech Workers, http://dbacon.igc.org/Unions/04hitec2.htm.
20.
“How Did New York Become the Most Unionized State in the Country?” The Nation (September 3, 2014).
21.
“Crane Operators Threaten Strike at Many Construction Sites,” The New York Times (June 30, 2006).
22.
“GlobalFoundries Appoints Russo to Gov’t Relations Team,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (May 12, 2009).
23.
“GlobalFoundries, Unions Strike Labor Deal,” Glen Falls, The Post-Star (June 4, 2009).
24.
Gary Moon of Queensbury, general foreman of the pipefitters at the site, said in 2011, “Let me tell you, in 44 years in the business, I’ve never eaten like this. I’ve worked all over the place, and wow, you never get food anywhere near this good.” See “Never Mind the Lunchbox,” Albany, The Times Union (February 16, 2011).
25.
National Research Council, Charles W. Wessner (rapporteur), New York’s Nanotechnology Model: Building the Innovation Economy (Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2013), p. 88.
26.
“Chip Fab Work Striking In Its Scope, Complexity,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (February 21, 2010). GlobalFoundries provided Malta with $1.5 million to hire experts to inspect the construction. Malta contracted with two local engineering firms, Chazen Cos. of Troy and Evergreen Engineering of Albany, to assist the town in reviewing site plans and codes and inspecting the plant itself. “GlobalFoundries Plant Generates Demand for Site Inspectors,” Albany, Business Review (March 18, 2010).
27.
“Work Coming Along Inside GlobalFoundries,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (October 22, 2010).
28.
“Warehouse an Important Stop for Chip Plant Tools,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (April 7, 2012); “Chip Plant’s Laborer Set to Move In,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (April 27, 2011); “No Slowdown Planned at Chip Factory,” Albany, The Times Union (January 14, 2012).
29.
“GloFo to Make New IBM Chip,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (January 10, 2012).
30.
“M+W Out of Job in Malta,” Albany, The Times Union (March 3, 2012).
31.
“$2.3B in Work Starts at Fab 8,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (December 22, 2012).
32.
“Cuomo Balks at Cash for Second Plant,” Albany, The Times Union (June 4, 2011); “Talks for Added Site Cool,” Albany, The Times Union (July 1, 2011).
33.
“Where Will the Chips Fall?” Albany, The Times Union (July 10, 2011).
34.
“GlobalFoundries Delays Fab Plans,” Albany, The Times Union (November 12, 2011).
35.
“R&D Center Plan in Malta,” Albany, The Times Union (July 10, 2011).
36.
“GlobalFoundries Announces it May Build an Additional Semiconductor Facility in Malta,” Saratoga Springs, The Saratogian (September 25, 2012); “Chip Facility Set to Grow,” Albany, The Times Union (September 26, 2012).
37.
“Board OKs GloFo Center Plan,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (October 18, 2012).
38.
“Board OKs GloFo Center Plan,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (October 18, 2012).
39.
“CEO Signals ‘Fab 8.2,’” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (January 11, 2013).
40.
“GlobalFoundries to Invest $2 Billion in New Malta Research and Development Facility,” Saratoga Springs, The Saratogian (January 8, 2013).
41.
“Saratoga County Approves $387M Tax Break for GlobalFoundries Projects,” Saratoga Springs, The Saratogian (March 18, 2013).
42.
“A GlobalFoundries Growth Spurt,” Albany, The Times Union (January 9, 2013).
43.
“GlobalFoundries Plans New York R&D Center,” EE Times (January 9, 2013).
44.
“Firm to Build Research Center,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (March 6, 2013).
45.
“Nano Tech Valley: Construction Keeps Rolling,” Saratoga Springs, The Saratogian (June 23, 2013).
46.
“GlobalFoundries a True Growth Business,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (February 16, 2014).
47.
“GloFo to Make New IBM Chip,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (January 10, 2012).
48.
“Firm Betting on Chip Plant,” Albany, The Times Union (December 21, 2012).
49.
“Fab 8 to Build Milestone New Chip This Year,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (April 27, 2012).
50.
“GloFo Shows Progress in 3D Stacks,” EE Times (March 19, 2014).
51.
“Samsung Licenses 3D Chip Manufacturing Tech to GlobalFoundries to Win More Orders,” Reuters (April 17, 2014).
52.
“GloFo Seeks Boost in Tax Relief,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (July 21, 2015).
53.
“Town Officials Satisfied New Chip Plant Would be Quieter,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (May 2, 2013).
54.
Ed Sperling “An Inside Look at the GlobalFoundries—IBM Deal,” Semiconductor Engineering (November 20, 2014).
55.
“GloFo to Get 2 IBM Facilities,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (October 21, 2014); “GlobalFoundries: No Layoffs in IBM Chip Units,” Associated Press (October 20, 2014).
56.
Ed Sperling “An Inside Look at the GlobalFoundries—IBM Deal,” Semiconductor Engineering (November 20, 2014). RF SOI technology is used to make a range of key radio frequency (RF) devices, including switches and other components in smartphones and tablets. IBM, the world’s largest source of RF SOI devices, could not keep pace with demand. GlobalFoundries has additional RF SOI capacity in Singapore that can be brought to bear on the smartphone market. “GF Closes on IBM Chip Business Purchase,” Semiconductor Engineering (July 1, 2015).
57.
“GF Closes on IBM Chip Business Purchase,” Semiconductor Engineering (July 1, 2015).
58.
Ed Sperling “An Inside Look at the GlobalFoundries—IBM Deal,” Semiconductor Engineering (November 20, 2014).
59.
Ed Sperling “An Inside Look at the GlobalFoundries—IBM Deal,” Semiconductor Engineering (November 20, 2014).
60.
Tom Patton, GlobalFoundries’ chief technology officer, said in 2015 that advanced research at Fab 8 leveraged “people moving in from IBM, “Inside GlobalFoundries’ Feb 8,” EE Times (August 18, 2015).
61.
“Inside GlobalFoundries’ Fab 8,” EE Times (August 18, 2015)
62.
“GlobalFoundries Will Boost Capacity in New York, Germany, Singapore and China,” Albany Business Review (February 10, 2017).
63.
“GlobalFoundries Will Invest Billions of Dollars to Develop Next Generation of Chips,” Albany Business Review (September 15, 2016).
64.
“GlobalFoundries” Fires up its 7-nm Leading Performance Forges,” The Tech Report (June 16, 2017). The 7LP process uses optical lithography but EUV is “compatible” if a user requires it. GlobalFoundries indicates that the 7-nm process offers a 40% device performance improvement over the 14-nm process and reduced power requirements of up to 60%. “GlobalFoundries on a Roll With 7 nm and 5 nm Announcements,” Forbes (June 15, 2017)
65.
“Huge Breakthrough at SUNY Poly with 5 nm Chips,” Albany The Times Union (June 5, 2017).
66.
“GlobalFoundries on a Roll with 7 nm and 5 nm Announcements,” Forbes (June 13, 2017).
67.
“What’s Next for GlobalFoundries After its Pivot,” Albany Business Review (October 10, 2018).
68.
“Fab 2 Could Benefit Schools,” Albany, The Times Union (August 4, 2009).
69.
“$160M Chip Plant Assessment Proposal,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (May 1, 2010).
70.
“Chip Maker Fighting Tax Bill,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (May 26, 2010).
71.
“Fab’s Tax Bill Firm,” Albany, The Times Union (July 2, 2010).
72.
“Suit Filed Over Chip Plan Assessment,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (July 30, 2010).
73.
“GlobalFoundries’ Tentative Assessment is $400M,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (May 3, 2011).
74.
“GlobalFoundries Challenging Value Assessment of its Malta Microchip Manufacturing Plant for a Second Time,” Saratoga Springs, The Saratogian (May 25, 2011).
75.
“Malta Sued in Tax Dispute,” Albany, The Times Union (August 10, 2011).
76.
“Tentative Deal Reached in GlobalFoundries Legal Battle Over Assessments,” Saratoga Springs, The Saratogian (February 28, 2012).
77.
“Supervisors Settle on Assessment for GlobalFoundries,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (April 18, 2012).
78.
“Chip Plant Tax Deal Nearly Ready,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (April 5, 2012).
79.
“Supervisors Settle on Assessment for GlobalFoundries,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (April 1, 2012).
80.
“Saratoga IDA Approves GlobalFoundries Property Assessment Plan,” Glens Falls, The Post-Star (May 15, 2012).
81.
“GlobalFoundries Chip Fab Plant Fosters a Ripple Effect Felt Far and Wide,” Saratoga Springs, The Saratogian (July 24, 2012).
82.
“Chip Maker Seeks New Tax Breaks,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (December 3, 2010).
83.
“Chip Maker Seeks New Tax Breaks,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (December 3, 2010); “IDA Approves Another $111 Million in Benefits for Computer Chip Factory,” Glens Falls, The Post-Star (December 21, 2010). State law provides that manufacturing equipment is exempt from sales tax, but the determination of which pieces of equipment are exempt are subject to a case-by-case review. “Chip Plant Exemptions Get OK,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (June 14, 2011).
84.
“GlobalFoundries Seeks Tax Breaks,” Albany, The Times Union (May 5, 2011).
85.
“Chip Plant Exemptions Get OK,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (June 14, 2011).
86.
“Saratoga County IDA Approves $387M Tax Break for GlobalFoundries Projects,” Saratoga Springs, The Saratogian (March 18, 2013).
87.
“Plant Builders Vow to Adhere to Noise Limits,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (June 19, 2009). The zoning approval required construction noise at the GlobalFoundries property line not to exceed 55 dB by day and 45 dB by night. Normal conversation occurs around 60 dB. Ibid.
88.
“Dirty Work Begins at Site. Miles of Earth to Level Facility Site,” Saratoga Springs, The Saratogian (July 31, 2009).
89.
“Town Officials Satisfied New Chip Plant Would be Quieter,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (May 2, 2013).
90.
“Hum Bothers GloFo Neighbors,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (July 26, 2011).
91.
“GlobalFoundries in Malta Unveils Long-Term Plan for Lowering Noise Levels, Talks About Ways to Alleviate Traffic Congestion,” Saratoga Springs, The Saratogian (August 30, 2011).
92.
“Silencer Should Reduce Chip Fab Noise by June,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (March 13, 2012).
93.
“Malta Chip Plant’s Noise Making Neighbors Mad,” Glens Falls, The Post-Star (January 11, 2012).
94.
“Silencers Should Reduce Chip Fab Noise by June,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (March 13, 2012).
95.
“Electric Noise Hope to be Reduced,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette (March 29, 2012).
96.
“GlobalFoundries Says it has Found a Way to Minimize Noise Emitted From its Plant,” Saratoga Springs, The Saratogian (June 28, 2012).
97.
“The ‘Hum’ Goes On For Some,” Albany, The Times Union (June 29, 2012).
98.
“Town Officials Satisfied New Chip Plant Would be Quieter,” Schenectady, The Daily Gazette May 2, 2013).
99.
As noted in the front matter of this book, the study also drew on interviews carried out by the authors and numerous articles from The Times Union (Albany), The Daily Gazette (Schenectady), the Albany Business Review (Albany), The Post-Star (Glens Falls), The Record (Troy), The Saratogian (Saratoga Springs) , The Buffalo News (Buffalo), The Observer-Dispatch (Utica), The Daily Messenger (Canandaigua), and the Post-Standard (Syracuse). These are not individually included in the bibliography.

Bibliography

As noted in the front matter of this book, the study also drew on interviews carried out by the authors and numerous articles from The Times Union (Albany), The Daily Gazette (Schenectady), the Albany Business Review (Albany), The Post-Star (Glens Falls), The Record (Troy), The Saratogian (Saratoga Springs) , The Buffalo News (Buffalo), The Observer-Dispatch (Utica), The Daily Messenger (Canandaigua), and the Post-Standard (Syracuse). These are not individually included in the bibliography.

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Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
Charles W. Wessner
Dentons, LLP, Washington, DC, USA
Thomas R. Howell

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Wessner, C.W., Howell, T.R. (2020). The Launch of GlobalFoundries. In: Regional Renaissance. International Studies in Entrepreneurship, vol 42. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21194-3_6

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21194-3_6
Published: 15 September 2019
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
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