Video, Audio, Photos, & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Announces the Grand Opening of Wolfspeed's $1 Billon State of the Art Silicon Carbide Fabrication Facility in the Mohawk Valley

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the grand opening of the Wolfspeed 200mm silicon carbide fabrication facility at the Marcy Nanocenter, located on the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute campus in Marcy in Oneida County. Wolfspeed, the global leader in silicon carbide technology and production, has committed to creating over 600 new jobs at the new facility within the first eight years of operation. In addition, the company will provide internships and research positions for students attending the State University of New York, helping to advance a manufacturing-oriented workforce development initiative across the State University of New York system. Wolfspeed is actively working with education and business partners across the region to establish a robust pipeline for the next generation of high-quality, high-tech jobs in the Mohawk Valley, including those in advanced manufacturing.

VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.

AUDIO of the event is available here.

PHOTOS of the event will be available on the Governor's Flickr page.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Thank you, Gregg. This is such an extraordinary day. First of all, it's not snowing. It snowed just a couple of days ago, but you can't make this up. It is so beautiful to be here. And it's really just heartwarming to see the faces in this crowd to know what people from this area have gone through for decades.

I'm from another place down the road called Buffalo, New York, the other end of the Erie Canal. And the Erie Canal was really the great link that brought New York City from being just this little village to being the power house it is because of commerce that came right through the backyards of the Mohawk Valley and onward to the Great Lakes.

That is the legacy of building and manufacturing. A strong work ethic that today serves us so well because when employers are trying to decide where to go, and I just say, do you want to go to the place that has the most hardest working individuals, the ones who value education, their families, who understand long-term commitments to an employer who takes care of them? That's what you get when you come to Upstate New York.

So to Gregg and the entire team at Wolfspeed, I am so proud that you are so smart to discover us. And to Eric Bach, you'll be talking about your phenomenal vehicles. And I know Lucid is made in Arizona and Arizona is certainly a nice place, but can't you just see great manufacturing right here. I think we've got some room here. Do we have any extra room here? I see a lot of space. I think we can take good care of you, Eric, too.

I never stop pitching this state. So delighted to have you here as well and your innovation, your genius behind the product that you'll be talking about more in a couple of minutes. Hope Knight, the head of Empire State Development. She has become a leader throughout this state and her knowledge of how we can make that connection between government resources and the private sector vision and marry them together to result in a place like we are here today.

So Hope Knight, thank you so much. Great local partners, I come out of local government. 14 years, and I used to do everything I could to pitch businesses to come to my hometown. I would do whatever it took. I was from Buffalo. I'd bring him a plate of chicken wings and say, you know, whatever it takes to keep you here. SoI'm a dealmaker from heart, my very beginning to make sure that we get people who want to be in an area and get them to stay and make sure they prosper.

So I want to thank our local County Executive here, Tony Picente, who has that same passion for making sure that people feel welcome here in Oneida County, in this area. So I want to thank him for his leadership. Great to have partners in Albany. Senator Joe Griffo, I want to thank you for just being such a champion for this region. And the same for member Marianne Buttenschon, who's just done an incredible job in her tenure as well.

I know the Mayor of Utica very well. Got some great sport teams over in Utica. So if you guys want to watch a little hockey and some sports over there, go see Mayor Palmieri, and I'm sure he'll take you out to a nice dinner too. City of Rome, Mayor Jackie Izzo. Great friend. We've walked to your community many times and the town of Marcy Supervisor, how do you land this one? When I was a local government, if I had brought something like this, they would have put me on a shrine someplace. Socongratulations to Brian Scala for his work too. And Steve DeMayo, thank you for all you do.

There's a little place far away called Silicon Valley. You ever hear that? Yeah, it'skind of overrated. I want to be the first to welcome you to Silicon Carbide Valley, because this is the future. And to have a billion dollar state-of-the-art fabrication facility here with over 600 jobs coming. I think we got about 200 now? 200 already, that's good. Can I hear 300? Do I hear 400? You'll get there. But also it's not just the jobs today, but also creating this whole ecosystem where all the media here is going to make sure everybody else knows about this, and everyone's going to say "I'm missing a good game if I don't show up in the Mohawk Valley."

Because this is where it's all happening, my friends. I can feel the energy, and as Governor, I'm going to keep directing resources and people who want to be part of the whole new future, and tell them it's happening right here. And I've said that when I announced my very first State of the State address, my first budget, I said, "Everybody else who's been hit so hard by the pandemic, you do not want to miss the greatest comeback in the history of this nation. What we're doing right here in the State of New York."

You have shown your faith in us, the whole team, and I think I met many of your board of directors, the true believers who believe in not just this company, but in this region. And that's why we bring you cookies and things like that. It is a big deal to us that you're here, it really is a big deal. So we'll never take for granted, like some other big area that sees a lot of businesses come and go. You're part of the family now. And that's the difference you get when you come to a place like Oneida County or anywhere in the Mohawk Valley, we treasure you as friends and neighbors now. And I know that word is going to get out, that other people are going to be part of that whole story. And we're going to make sure that the future continues to be builtright here in Marcy.

And this is going to really help jumpstart our recovery. And I'm going to make a commitment to you. I will make sure that you have the talent you're looking for. You tell us now, not just the skills you're looking for in your workforce today. You guys are visionaries, you've already figured out what you need 5 to 10 years down the road. You're already innovating into the future. Tell us those skills, and I'll make sure that the world-class institutions of higher education that are right here in the Mohawk Valley are teaching those skills.

So there's a direct pipeline for individuals, especially individuals who've come to this part of our state and our country in search of better life. Yes, this area was built by hardworking immigrants like my grandparents, but also we have new immigrants. And I think places like the Mohawk Valley, City of Utica and places like this, they're so welcoming to people from around the world. The refugees that are coming here are part of that whole story as well.

So you can diversify your workforce, get the most fascinating individuals, all right here in the Mohawk Valley. So my commitment is to make sure you have those employees as well. And so Wolfspeed, the synergy between you and SUNY Poly is going to only deepen and strengthen. That is my commitment, and build on one of the top semiconductor ecosystems already in the country. 88 semiconductor establishments already statewide.

They right now to this day have nearly a $5 billion economic impact. And we're just getting started, supporting over 34,000 high wage jobs. Yes, my friends, you'rewitnessing the future, as you heard from the County Executive. And from this day forward, people are going to say, why aren't you here in New York State? In the Mohawk Valley, right here on this beautiful mountaintop, overlooking Silicon Carbide Valley.

Thank you very much.