FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: RAJIV ENAND
724- 763-2111
rajiv@caracalsemi.com
CARACAL AND GOVERNOR EDWARD RENDELL CUT RIBBON ON FORD CITY SEMICONDUCTOR FACILITY:
COMPANY EXPECTS TO CREATE 140 TECHNOLOGY JOBS
FORD CITY, PA – February 14, 2005 – Caracal, Inc, an advanced semiconductor materials company developing Silicon Carbide wafers to power electronic devices, opens its new facilities today in a ribbon cutting ceremony with Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell; Representative Jeffrey P. Pyle; a representative from Congressman John Murtha’s office; Patricia Kirkpatrick, Chair, Armstrong County Board of Commissioners; and other economic development officials who helped the company get off the ground.
Caracal is the first tenant of the newly renovated Heritage and Technology Park, a former PPG facility. PPG donated the land to the Greater Ford City Community Development Corporation (GFCCDC) to develop the property. The GFCCDC received more than $5 million in state and federal grants to remediate the former Brownfield site and prepare the building for technology companies to occupy.
In addition to funding the site redevelopment, the Commonwealth made the following commitments of financial aid:
• $1,000,000 RACP grant to the GFCCDC to help build out the infrastructure needed to locate Caracal to the site. Governor’s Action Team economic aid package to Caracal consisting of grants, loans and job training assistance totaling about $1,000,000. Caracal expects to create 140 new technology jobs at the site over the next three years.
Pennsylvania’s technology development community has also played a large role in helping the young company get early financing and critical business assistance. The Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse (now known as the Technology Collaborative) and Innovation Works, both state-sponsored entities, provided early working capital for Caracal. The Greenhouse provided a $33,000 start-up grant and a $164,000 research grant. Innovation Works has made three investments in Caracal totaling $300,000 and is providing on-going business assistance to the company.
“We are very excited to see a company like Caracal locate in Pennsylvania where they can take advantage of such facilities as the neighboring Electro-Optics Center in Armstrong County, recruit technology workers from the world-class research universities in Pittsburgh, and receive financial and business support from the region’s technology economic development agencies,” said Governor Rendell. “This is exactly the kind of company that can use the state’s economic development tools and create more than a hundred high-quality, high-paying jobs over the next few years.”
Rajiv Enand, President and CEO of Caracal, said the types of jobs to be created would include scientists, engineers and manufacturing technicians. “Caracal is growing rapidly, and we are grateful to the state and our regional partners who have helped make it possible to move into this state-of-the-art facility and achieve our business objectives,” said Mr. Enand. “The increasing global demand for Silicon Carbide wafers means we need to be able to scale up quickly and enter the market with our product as soon as possible. The aid packages from the state and the on-going business assistance is helping us speed through the start-up phases.”
Congressman John Murtha was instrumental in attracting the Electro Optics Center to Armstrong County, a major draw for Caracal, and provided about $3 million in funding for the development of the Heritage and Technology Park. In a statement from John Murtha, the congressman said, “Today’s ribbon cutting ceremony is yet another indication that our investment in this region’s economic revitalization is paying off. First, we created the opportunity of the Electro Optics Center – a chance for businesses to tap into the kind of high-tech expertise that can mean the difference between profit and loss or success and failure. Then we sweetened the offer by renovating this Ford City facility for these fledgling companies to get established and grow. This is just what we had in mind, and I’m pleased to welcome Caracal to Armstrong County’s economic revival.”
“Caracal is truly the type of company Innovation Works seeks out for investment. Their technology is unique and there is a growing demand for their product,” said Rich Lunak, President &CEO of Innovation Works. “But more than that, their team is committed to growing jobs in the region, attracting additional federal research dollars, using our talented graduates in their laboratory and manufacturing facility, and attracting greater investment in the region. Caracal can really be an engine of growth for southwestern Pennsylvania.”
David Ruppersberger, Chief Executive Officer of The Technology Collaborative agrees that Caracal is effectively leveraging the region’s economic development organizations to have a positive impact on the company and community. “We are pleased to celebrate this milestone, as we have been working with Caracal for over two years. Their success exemplifies how The Technology Collaborative (TTC) helps its start-up members form, grow, and prosper in the region and across the State,” says Mr. Ruppersberger. “Caracal is representative of the technological breadth and entrepreneurial spirit that has developed over time within our expanding cluster of companies in Pennsylvania. On the technical side, Caracal has an activeTTC funded project, which should position them to become an industry leader in the field of silicon carbide and power devices. On the business side, we are glad to see that they have benefited from our Starter Kit program in the areas of talent recruitment, office furniture/equipment subsidy, and business support in the local community.”
About Innovation Works
Innovation Works (IW) is Southwestern Pennsylvania’s Ben Franklin Technology Partner. IW is a state-sponsored organization providing risk capital, business assistance and other resources to help high-potential, technology start-up companies commercialize their products and grow their companies. Innovation Works also helps established manufacturing companies adopt new technologies to help them compete more effectively in the global marketplace.
About The Technology Collaborative
Formed in December 2004 as the result of a merger between The Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse and The Robotics Foundry, The Technology Collaborative is a statewide economic development organization focused on growing companies and streamlining efforts to secure a balanced mix of federal, state and local funding to support the growth of Pennsylvania’s world-class robotics, cyber-security and digital technologies industries. TTC’s mission is to develop an effective end-to-end strategy for integrating digital technologies developed by the state’s universities into commercial products that are designed, engineered, produced, marketed and sold by companies based in Pennsylvania.
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