New York Gets High-Tech Investments

Momentive Performance Materials, the former General Electric silicones business, is moving its global headquarters to Albany, N.Y., from Wilton, Conn., in August and will build a $65 million, 124,000-sq-ft technology center in nearby Rensselaer County. About $6.5 million in capital grants from the State of New York will help defray costs for both the technology center and a new global headquarters to be built later. Separately, IBM will invest $1.5 billion to expand its operations at the College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering at the University at Albany, create an advanced semiconductor packaging R&D facility in the state, and upgrade the firm's East Fishkill, N.Y., facility. The state will kick in $140 million in economic development grants.