GlobalFoundries lays groundwork for second plant

By Stephen Williams  November 11, 2015  | Updated 10:46 p.m.  

An overhead view of Fab 8 in Malta, provided by GlobalFoundries.  

An overhead view of Fab 8 in Malta, provided by GlobalFoundries.



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MALTA & STILLWATER — While GlobalFoundries recently laid off some staff at Fab 8, it is in expansion mode in other respects.

The semiconductor giant announced Wednesday that it has not only acquired an additional 70 acres of land adjacent to its $12 billion plant on the Luther Forest Technology Campus for possible future expansion, but also agreed on an exclusive option to purchase another 135 acres at an unspecified time in the future.

It’s a step toward the day when another chip plant may be needed, acknowledged Tom Caulfield, GlobalFoundries’ senior vice-president and general manager of Fab 8. The cost of that plant has been estimated at $15 billion.

“The intention of this is to be able to grow our business,” Caulfield said. “The timing will be market-driven.”

In a statement, the company added that the new property will provide additional options for easing traffic congestion around its entrance.

While GlobalFoundries received town approvals to build a second full-scale chip fab in 2013, it hasn’t pursued the plans since then. However, officials said Wednesday the land purchase is a step toward a new plant, though the company would also need new power, water and gas utility sources.

“The first step is property, then the next step is infrastructure,” said Mike Russo, Fab 8’s government relations director.

In late October, Fab 8 laid off a “relatively small number” of employees — believed to be less than 100 — citing the current cyclical downturn in the tech industry. Yet Caulfield expects the chip market to stabilize in 2016, when Fab 8 is gears up for volume production of cutting-edge, 14-nanometer chips, the smallest now on the market.

He doesn’t anticipate further cuts in the 3,000-person workforce.

“I don’t know if we’ll grow,” he said prior to an open house Wednesday night. “I think there will be hiring.”

The 70 acres would be added to 222 acres the company already owns. The newly acquired land is in both Malta and Stillwater, GlobalFoundries spokesman Jason Gorss said. Fab 8 sits on the line between the two towns.

Luther Forest Technology Campus Economic Development Corp. Chairman Thomas Roohan said about 60 of the acres are around where GlobalFoundries is building two new 5-million-gallon water storage tanks, and about 11 acres — including the site of a historic rocket engine testing gantry — are in the vicinity of the plant entrance.

“Our mission is to have economic growth, and when you have a client like GlobalFoundries investing, that’s a good thing,” Roohan said.

Roohan put the sale price at between $1 million and $2 million — money sorely needed by the tech park corporation, which has struggled to attract new tenants since GlobalFoundries began construction in 2009. At the urging of GlobalFoundries and others, the two towns recently changed zoning restrictions widely blamed for discouraging other firms from negotiating incentive deals to come into the campus.

“We have been working closely with the LFTC Economic Development Corp. and the towns of Malta and Stillwater to modify some zoning rules that will make LFTC competitive with other development sites in the state and nation, helping to pave the way for more economic development in Saratoga County” Caulfield said. “Today’s agreement is a culmination of that work and reaffirms our commitment to laying a foundation for the potential future expansion of our business within the technology campus.”

GlobalFoundries wrapped up construction of a new manufacturing-research facility this past summer, ending six years of construction, and Caulfield said 2016 will be devoted to building up production.

“We want to run to capacity for awhile before we make the next level of production [investment],” Caulfield said.


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