Micron is celebrating a milestone in the construction of a massive computer chipmaking complex in central New York. State, local and federal officials were on hand as a cement mixer poured concrete into what will become the footprint of the first of four chipmaking factories for a complex that will become the largest semiconductor producer in the country. Following a program called "Concrete Progress," Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said it was important to take note of progress that’s been made.
"We are proud that we have accelerated this," Mehrotra said. "In six months, we have gained three months. You have to see how fast we are building, how much we are focusing on it, how much we are committed to it."
It was only six months ago, on a frigid, snowy January day, that Micron broke ground on the project. Work crews removed trees and brush from 680 acres of the project’s footprint to clear the way for construction that can now begin. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who was at the groundbreaking, marveled at the progress.
"Lots of companies can do a groundbreaking, right? They have nice shovels, and they do it right," Lutnick said. "You have to hold their feet to the fire. Are they delivering what they said? And here's an example when you come back in six months. Okay, what have you accomplished? Does it still look like a grove of trees out there, or does it look different? And now you can see they are really putting the pedal to the metal."
Micron initially expected the construction phase to begin later this year or early next year. Mehrotra said an exploding memory market has intensified their efforts.
"We are very motivated to move as fast as we can to bring up memory supply here, you know, to feed all the end markets from consumer markets to data centers," Mehrotra said.
Governor Kathy Hochul briefly stopped by the ceremony, coming from New York City. She said the last three months have seen record investments in commercial leases in New York City and New York state, and said Micron has played a part in that.
"I'm talking about the largest cosmetic company in the world. I'm talking about Anthropic and other AI startups, in addition to some of the largest. I'm talking about the second-largest bank in America. I'm talking about two of the top 50 law firms are now finding their way to New York. And you know who they're following? They're following Micron, because they know Micron is the leader. This is the place that your business wants to grow and thrive, and we all know that," Hochul said.
Micron says construction of the entire $100 billion project will take 20 years. Production of memory chips should begin in the first fab in 2028 or 2029. Mehrotra noted that Micron's national investment in the computer chip business will grow from $2 billion to $250 billion in coming years. The central New York complex will be the largest semiconductor factory in the United States and comes as Washington is trying to bring more high-tech manufacturing to America.
