Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Two Photonics Companies To Bring 1400 Jobs To Rochester

Hundreds of jobs are coming to the Rochester area as a result of the recent push into Photonics, which involves the use of light in robotics, medical imaging, national security and other fields. 

Governor Andrew Cuomo was among the officials making the announcement today at the Eastman Business Park, telling the crowd that two companies, Photonica and Avogy will be coming to Canal Ponds and the Eastman Business Park.

“Between the two companies , a $1.6 billion investment, 1400 new jobs coming to Rochester," Cuomo told the crowd at Building 28 at the Eastman Business Park.  

Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul was at the announcement, as was Danny Wegman and SUNY Poly official Alain Kaloyeros.

Officials revealed last year that Rochester will benefit from an infusion of more than 600 million dollars from federal, state and private sources, in an effort to make this region a photonics hub that could eventually create thousands of jobs.

Cuomo says he believes with the right infrastructure in place, and cooperation between stakeholders, more companies will follow suit and bring even more jobs to the region.

"The regions that thrive are the unified regions, where people work together. They put aside competition for cooperation."

Cuomo says the companies will do research and development work at Canal Ponds, and progress to advanced manufacturing at the Eastman Business Park.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.
Veronica Volk is a senior editor and producer for WXXI News.
Sasha-Ann Simons joined the team at WXXI News in 2015 as a Multimedia Reporter/Producer. She tells stories about the innovation economy and technology in upstate New York and also does general assignment reporting. Sasha-Ann is the host of Arts InFocus, WXXI-TV's weekly arts and culture program. She is also a fill-in host and regular contributor to Need To Know.