Nanotronics together with New York New York State Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, announced that Nanotronics will open a high-tech manufacturing center at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, creating 190 new jobs and investing $11 million. The new flagship manufacturing center will be located in the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s historic Building 20, a 150-year-old former shipbuilding factory. The project, which brings manufacturing and research and development together in one location, delivers the blueprint for how to reinvigorate New York’s manufacturing sector while furthering Governor Cuomo’s efforts to grow the state’s technology ecosystem. Additionally, Nanotronics has partnered with the City University of New York’s Medgar Evers College to join the START-UP NY program, collaborating to develop the next generation of leaders in the expanding technology and manufacturing epicenter of New York.
In a press release, New York State Governor, Andrew M. Cuomo said, “New York offers 21st century tech firms the talent pipelines they need to succeed, and we are proud to support innovative companies that invest in the Empire State.” Governor Cuomo also said in the release, “This project melds the Brooklyn waterfront’s industrial heritage with its tech-based future and creates a state-of-the-art manufacturing center that will generate jobs, spur investment and build a stronger economy.”
“New York City is rapidly becoming the international hub for innovation and technology, and it’s not just happening in Manhattan,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. “With New York State’s support and record private investment, Brooklyn Navy Yard capitalized on its rich industrial history and has emerged as a national model for revitalizing manufacturing and green technology in the 21st century. The expansion of Nanotronics will create 190 new jobs, and most importantly, it includes a training pipeline in partnership with CUNY so that New Yorkers can actually obtain and retain those positions. We look forward to welcoming the next generation of innovators and leaders.”
Matthew Putman, CEO and Co-Founder of Nanotronics said, “As we break ground on our new home, we are grateful to the State of New York and to the Brooklyn Navy Yard for their dedication to industry, innovation, and most importantly, the community they have united.”
Founded in 2010, Nanotronics manufactures advanced imaging systems that combine robotics, optical microscopy and machine learning and artificial intelligence platforms. These platforms revolutionize process control for manufacturing, factory control and research – especially in the advanced materials, pharmaceutical, life sciences and aerospace industries, among others. Currently a tenant of the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s New Lab, a platform for scaling frontier technologies and home to over 500 entrepreneurs, this project will expand the company into the Navy Yard’s historic Building 20 and allow it to increase operations to meet growing demand.
Designed by Rogers Partners Architects + Urban Designers, the new facility will allow Nanotronics’ artificial intelligence researchers, computer scientists, chemists and physicists to work directly with skilled machinists on the manufacturing floor, developing innovations that will lead partner industries to a smaller factory footprint, less waste and a faster route from R&D to production. The firm will be able to recruit top talent locally through New York institutions including the Navy Yard’s Employment Center and STEAM Center, the City University of New York (CUNY), Cornell Tech, New York University and Columbia University. The hub’s location in the Navy Yard also provides space for partner firms in the life sciences, semiconductor, aerospace, automobile, additive manufacturing and quantum computing sectors to grow alongside Nanotronics.
Empire State Development Acting Commissioner and President & CEO-Designate Eric Gertler said, “This project honors the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s manufacturing heritage and utilizes New York’s top academic and tech talent to support the kind of cutting-edge company that is driving our economy forward. Today’s partnership is a prime example of the progress ESD has made creating a place and a path for innovation and opportunity.”
Assembly Member Joseph R. Lentol said, “Thank you to Governor Cuomo and Lt. Governor Hochul for bringing another great leading technology to Brooklyn. The Navy Yard is clearly a hub for new, creative and significant technology that seats New York at the forefront of high-tech job creation. This partnership and this new space will greatly benefit our community by utilizing the local talent pool and keeping Brooklyn on the forefront of the tech industry.”
CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez said, “We thank Governor Cuomo for his START-UP NY initiative, which continues to benefit the University and our students. This important partnership between Nanotronics and CUNY’s Medgar Evers College will afford our students the opportunity to gain the necessary workplace experience and digital skills they will need to succeed in the tech-focused 21st century economy.”
David Ehrenberg, President & CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation said, “The Navy Yard is quickly becoming a national model for bringing sustainable manufacturing jobs back to cities, and companies like Nanotronics are leading that charge. Nanotronics is the perfect example of the type of innovative manufacturer that can thrive at the Yard, exemplifying a new model of urban manufacturing and creating high-quality jobs.”
Winston Fisher, Partner at Fisher Brothers and NYC REDC Co-Chair, said, “This tech hub will help cement the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s place at the intersection of tech and manufacturing – generating solid returns for New York while developing and building new technologies.”
Cheryl A. Moore, President and Chief Operating Officer of the New York Genome Center and NYC REDC Co-Chair, said, “From Brooklyn to the Bronx, New York’s tech sector is surging, and this project is a down payment on future growth. Nanotronics is on the leading edge of its field, providing critical tools for healthcare and life sciences research – and we look forward to the jobs this project will create and the other companies it will attract to our city.”
To support Nanotronics’ expansion, Empire State Development has offered the company up to $2.25 million in a performance-based capital grant. To receive the full grant amount, Nanotronics must create 190 jobs on top of its existing 34 positions and invest at least $11 million in the project. The company also intends to spend at least 30 percent of the grant with certified Minority and Women-Owned Businesses. The project was supported by the New York City Regional Economic Development Council.
Additionally, Nanotronics is partnering with CUNY’s Medgar Evers College to join the START-UP NY program, which fosters collaboration between innovative companies and universities across New York State. Through this program, Nanotronics’ executives will work with faculty and students at Medgar Evers to mentor students, collaborate on research projects, host career service workshops, place students in meaningful paid internships and jobs, as well as develop teaching curriculums and programs in STEM and the humanities. Students will receive real-world business and technical experience in an emerging high-tech industry – preparing them for a wide variety of future careers, including at Nanotronics.
The Nanotronics groundbreaking comes as the Brooklyn Navy Yard undergoes a $1 billion expansion, its largest since WWII. The current expansion, which will increase the Yard’s job total to 20,000 from its current 10,000 by the end of 2021, includes the recently completed renovation of Building 77 to provide space to vertically-integrated design and manufacturing companies and the ground-floor Food Manufacturing Market; Dock 72, a new creative office building developed by Rudin Development, Boston Properties and WeWork opening this fall; Admiral’s Row, which will include a light manufacturing and creative office building developed by Steiner NYC and a Wegmans supermarket slated to open in October; the Green Manufacturing Center, which houses New Lab; and an expanded Steiner Studios, the largest film and television production studio outside Hollywood in the United States.
The Brooklyn Navy Yard also recently announced a $2.5 billion master plan to create 10,000 additional jobs housed in vertical manufacturing buildings, which would bring the total number of jobs at the Yard to 30,000 in the coming decades. The plan is centered around three underused development sites within the Yard and would include the ground-up development of vertical manufacturing space along with public realm and accessibility improvements. The plan also envisions a Navy Yard more integrated within the local community and improved wayfinding, lighting, and streetscapes to make the Yard more pedestrian and cyclist friendly.
