Edwards Vacuum Breaks Ground in Genesee County

A global supplier of the pumps that keep cleanrooms running chose Western New York for its first U.S. manufacturing plant

Every semiconductor fab depends on equipment most people never see. Dry vacuum pumps control the sensitive process environments inside chipmaking tools, and until recently Edwards Vacuum, the British-based leader in vacuum and abatement equipment, built them in Asia. In April 2024, the company broke ground on a $319 million dry pump manufacturing facility at the Science & Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP) in Genesee County, bringing a critical link in the supply chain to New York State.

Edwards, part of the Atlas Copco Group, made its decision after the federal CHIPS and Science Act, New York’s Green CHIPS program, and Micron’s $100 billion commitment in Central New York reshaped the domestic industry. Its customers now include Micron and GlobalFoundries in New York and Intel in Ohio.

Closer to the customer

The first phase of the 240,000-square-foot campus, a $127 million build, includes manufacturing, warehouse, and administration space with capacity for 10,000 dry pumps a year. The all-electric facility is pursuing LEED certification and will draw the majority of its power from hydroelectricity.

Building in New York shortens delivery times and improves responsiveness for fabs across the region. Edwards estimates the American-made product will cut roughly 13,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually once phase one is operational. The project is expected to create up to 600 jobs across Western New York and the Finger Lakes.

“Those days are over.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, on the era of manufacturing decline in Upstate New York, calling the groundbreaking the start of a new chapter for the region

Empire State support

Empire State Development awarded Edwards up to $21 million in performance-based Excelsior Jobs and Investment Tax Credits tied to the 600-job commitment, plus $1 million for workforce training. The New York Power Authority added a 4.9-megawatt allocation of low-cost Niagara hydropower and a 2.1-megawatt High Load Factor power allocation.

STAMP itself is a product of the state’s FAST NY program, which has awarded $175 million to prepare more than 2,500 shovel-ready acres across every upstate region. Edwards is the kind of tenant those sites were built for: a supplier that follows the fabs, strengthens the ecosystem around them, and makes the next investment easier to land.

Source: Governor Hochul press release, April 26, 2024

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