A top local official is still confident about the overall photonics rollout in the Rochester area, despite a question raised by a statement this week by one of the companies that had planned to put operations in Rochester.
An official with a company called Photonica told the Democrat & Chronicle that the company is giving careful consideration to the changing situation in the state and how it may affect plans to have some of its operations in New York State.
Earlier this year, Governor Andrew Cuomo and other officials announced that Photonica would be bringing jobs to Canal Ponds Park and the Eastman Business Park and bringing 400 jobs with it. Since that time, there have been some questions about whether the recent corruption scandal involving SUNY Polytechnic President Alain Kaloyeros would have any impact on the photonics effort in Rochester.
Most officials, including Greater Rochester Chamber President Bob Duffy do not think the scandal will slow down the photonics work.
Duffy, who is also Chairman of the AIM Photonics Leadership Council, says he has not personally been in touch with officials from the California company, but understands why they may have paused to make sure they understood the situation.
“I think it’s certainly, not a bad course of action if they’re reading certain stories and unsure. It is my hope that whoever they have dealt with the state or SUNY Poly would be on the phone with them and would try to at least assure them or get to a sense of finality,” Duffy told WXXI News.
Duffy also is not too concerned if there is a pause in the timeline for Photonica to move operations to this area.
“With all due respect to Photonica they are a very small piece of the photonics investment the state is making in Rochester and meanwhile, while people may focus on this, the main core of photonics for the AIM program in Rochester is this TAP facility, it’s a testing, assembly and packaging facility, that’s moving full speed ahead.”
Duffy expects an announcement soon about the location for the local testing, assembly and packaging facility.
Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul, who was in Rochester Friday, said the AIM Photonics initiative is still rock solid, and will occur in Rochester, regardless of whether a California photonics company comes here.
Hochul says the initiative can stand on its own. “There are many parts of that, so I would not be concerned about Photonica, if whether or not they come here. I believe they will, but I don't have any guarantees from the company that that is there current plan."
Hochul also said, in talking about Rochester, that, "this is going to be known as the nationwide center for research, development and commercialization of photonics industries and technologies. This is the place people are going to want to come."
Hochul says Empire State Development is assessing all the contracts and all the deals made by SUNY Poly, to make sure everything has been done correctly.
