Nanotechnology company opens at Watervliet Arsenal

By John B. SnyderNovember 26, 2008

Watervliet Arsenal's Newest Business Partner
Watervliet Arsenal celebrated the arrival of its newest civilian tenant, Vistec Lithography Inc., on November 25, 2008. Col. Scott N. Fletcher, commander of the Arsenal, welcomes, from left to right, Alain E.Kaloyeros of the College of Nanoscale Sci... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

WATERVLIET ARSENAL, N.Y. (November 26, 2008) - The Watervliet Arsenal welcomed its newest tenant, Vistec Lithography Inc., in a ceremony Tuesday heralded by local, state, and national political leaders as a major step toward moving the Capital District into a nanotechnology center of excellence.

After nearly two years of planning, Vistec recently completed the move of its headquarters from Cambridge, England to the Arsenal. The company is a global supplier of sophisticated equipment that uses advanced electron-beam lithography to imprint silicon wafers with electronic circuits.

"It's about jobs, jobs, and jobs," said New York Majority Leader, Assemblyman Ron Canestrari.

"This is the first time a high-tech company of this stature has moved its entire headquarters to the United States and its right here at the Watervliet Arsenal," added Canestrari.

The move has already created more than 35 jobs at the Arsenal.

Vistec used a combination of internal, New York State, and Department of the Army financing to rehabilitate an early 1900s-era building into a 30,000 square foot, state-of-art clean room facility and headquarters.

Col. Scott N. Fletcher, commander of the Watervliet Arsenal, said that the Arsenal continues to transform as it has done for nearly 200 years and therefore, should not surprise anyone that today's Arsenal is viable and thriving.

After all, Fletcher continued, the Arsenal is more than just a cannon manufacturing site and Tuesday's event reflects a significant amount of transformation the Arsenal has achieved through the years.

From guest speaker to guest speaker, all praised the efforts of Tony Gaetano, president of the Arsenal Business & Technology Partnership, for his energy and vision toward making this move possible for Vistec.

The Partnership, a not-for-profit organization, was created in 1999 to help transform space at the Arsenal that is not required for its current mission. To date, the Partnership has brought 17 civilian enterprises, with approximately 300 jobs to the Arsenal.

Papken Der Torossian, executive chairman of Vistec Lithography, said that Vistec will ship its first high-tech machine manufactured at the Arsenal to the University of California at Los Angeles next week.

Related Links:

What is Nanotechnology' -- Web site

Watervliet Arsenal Web site