After nearly 20 years, Genesee County's Science, Technology, and Manufacturing Park (STAMP) will have its first operating tenant.
On Thursday, local officials, including Sen. Chuck Schumer, will cut the ribbon on Edwards Vacuum's $319 million plant at the site in the town of Alabama, located just outside the Tonawanda Seneca reservation. The British firm's factory will produce dry pumps used in semiconductor production.
The STAMP was first proposed in 2009 and has faced controversy due to its proximity to both the reservation and the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge. The Seneca Nation and environmental groups have filed several lawsuits regarding the site.
The industrial park's first tenant was hydrogen fuel company PlugPower, which began building infrastructure at the site in the early 2020s before ultimately scrapping the project earlier this year. Stream U.S. also proposed a controversial hyperscale data center for the site. That project is on hold, following a large-scale data center moratorium enacted by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The Edwards Vacuum plant is expected to create about 600 jobs. Empire State Development, the state's economic development arm, provided $21 million in tax credits and support for the project.
