Monday, October 25, 2010
Downtown Living Tour
Great Success- Folks from all over came downtown on Sunday and were able to check out Austin DT VENUES (606 West 11th, W Residences, 5 Fifty Five, 904 West, Austin City Lofts, Brazos Lofts, Gables Park Plaza, Brown Building, Brazos Place, Gables West Avenue, Spring Condominiums, Greystar Red River Flats, 360 Condominiums)
I met folks visiting from Denver, Chicago and New York. It was great fun.
Our very own Jon Chambers is our DT guy- he knows DT like the back of his hand.
Samsung Gives Back!
Samsung invests in community
Officials from Samsung Austin Semiconductor announced Sept. 1 the company would donate million to the United Way Capital Area’s Success by 6 program. The donation was made to celebrate the company’s $3.6 billion expansion of its 12-inch semiconductor fabrication plant in Northeast Austin.
The donation will help fund the program over the next two to three years.
Samsung and its workers have made about $9.5 million in charitable contributions to area organizations since the company began operating in Austin in 1996. Employee charitable contributions have reached approximately $1.4 million.
Top three recipients of Samsung Austin Semiconductor employee charitable contributions:
Manor Education Foundation
Habitat for Humanity
Meals on Wheels
Click for larger image
Samsung could receive refund for retaining jobs
Austin City Council approved a proposal by Samsung Austin Semiconductor LLC in August to take advantage of a refund of some of the state sales taxes it has paid. The State of Texas’s Office of Economic Development and Tourism will decide on the refund in late 2010.
Samsung eligible for up to $3.75 million over five years from the Texas Enterprise Zone Program depending on number of jobs retained
Samsung expansion expected to add 600 jobs; qualifies for the tax credit because at least 35 percent of new employees will be residents of an enterprise zone or economically disadvantaged individuals
Source: Samsung Austin Semiconductor, Office of Economic Development and Tourism
Officials for the South Korea–based company launched a $3.6 billion capital spending effort in June that will build out the computer chip manufacturer’s second fabrication plant that opened in 2007. In August, Samsung applied for a state tax credit related to job creation worth up to $3.75 million. The following month, company officials donated $1 million to United Way Capital Area to celebrate the expansion.
TXP President Jon Hockenyos said such investments are vital to Austin’s economy, especially considering the competitive global market.
“Knowledge, capital and human resources are the three legs of the technology stool,” Hockenyos said. “A community has to continue to invest in each.”
The investment’s ripple effects will continue to help job growth in Austin. He said Samsung’s direct employment of 1,600 workers will translate into more than 6,000 jobs in support industries.
Starting in 2011, Samsung will manufacture logic chips, which store commands onboard and are used in cellular handsets and digital cameras.
Catherine Q. Morse, spokeswoman for Samsung Austin Semiconductor, said the move will help diversify the company.
“This expansion sends a message to the market that we’re going to be a bigger player in the logic sector, and that’s exciting,” Morse said. “Industry analysts have said we’re an up-and-comer in that market, and we will be here to be reckoned with when it comes to logic in the future.”
Samsung rebounds
Samsung opened its first international fabrication plant in Austin in 1996. By 2011, Samsung will have spent more than $9 billion on its Austin operation, making it one of the largest foreign investors in Texas.
In the late ’90s, Samsung’s Austin plant, commonly called Fab 1, focused on producing Dynamic Random Access Memory, memory chips universally used in personal computers.
At its peak, Samsung employed 900 workers in the 900,000-square-foot Fab 1 but ended production in October 2009 because the personal computer market waned with the declining economy, Morse said.
Samsung soon retooled Fab 1 into a copper processing operation to improve the quality of chips Samsung can make in Austin. Production started in April.
In 2007, Samsung’s Fab 2 opened, but officials were only able to fill about half of its 1.5 million-square-foot capacity. The production line makes NAND Flash memory, commonly used in digital music players and memory sticks. Samsung can make up to 80,000 NAND flash chips every month.
Samsung’s original plan called for the remaining Fab 2 space to be built out to produce more memory chips, but the strong mobile phone market shifted focus to logic chips.
“There is a high demand right now in the semiconductor industry for advanced electronic devices with handsets leading the way,” Morse said. “These chips are the brains of those devices.”
The new operation will be capable of producing about 40,000 logic chips per month by the end of 2011. The larger, more sophisticated chips take about twice as long to make than memory, but the chips also sell for significantly more.
“We have had starts and stops because of the global economic picture, but one could view this investment as a local recession buster,” Morse said. “Had we not expanded in 2007, when DRAM expired, we would have had to close in Austin.”
Local companies benefit
In addition to helping Samsung advance in a market led by such companies as Intel and Texas Instruments, the expansion is contributing to thousands of jobs in support industries, Morse said. For example, about 3,000 construction workers are helping to complete the project.
Jeff Henkener, Austin operations manager for Dynamic Systems Inc., said Samsung has been vital to area contractors.
Austin-based Dynamic Systems employs 250 workers and expects to add about 100 more in the coming months. The mechanical contracting company installs pipes that supply gases, chemicals and water to hundreds of Samsung tools that manufacture computer chips.
“Our volume of work and headcount follows right along with Samsung,” Henkener said. “On large ramp-ups like this, we do a lot of work, but Samsung never stops installing tools because they continue to refine their process.”
For electrical contracting firm JMEG LP, doing business with Samsung has meant the former subsidiary of a national company that went out of business eight years ago can continue operating in Texas.
Ray Naizer, president for JMEG, said Samsung was the company’s first client when the company formed in 2002.
The business relationship has helped JMEG keep 30 permanent workers in Austin. On average, JMEG employs about 100 people each year, but 2010 could be the company’s best year to date. Naizer said the current expansion will push the company’s work force past 250 employees through December.
“It’s not all permanent work, but when you’re able to recall more than 100 people and put them to work, those workers see real economic benefits,” Naizer said. “Samsung has been a wonderful customer that has allowed us to maintain a significant presence in the Austin market and provide good-paying jobs for many employees since our inception.”
Officials from Samsung Austin Semiconductor announced Sept. 1 the company would donate million to the United Way Capital Area’s Success by 6 program. The donation was made to celebrate the company’s $3.6 billion expansion of its 12-inch semiconductor fabrication plant in Northeast Austin.
The donation will help fund the program over the next two to three years.
Samsung and its workers have made about $9.5 million in charitable contributions to area organizations since the company began operating in Austin in 1996. Employee charitable contributions have reached approximately $1.4 million.
Top three recipients of Samsung Austin Semiconductor employee charitable contributions:
Manor Education Foundation
Habitat for Humanity
Meals on Wheels
Click for larger image
Samsung could receive refund for retaining jobs
Austin City Council approved a proposal by Samsung Austin Semiconductor LLC in August to take advantage of a refund of some of the state sales taxes it has paid. The State of Texas’s Office of Economic Development and Tourism will decide on the refund in late 2010.
Samsung eligible for up to $3.75 million over five years from the Texas Enterprise Zone Program depending on number of jobs retained
Samsung expansion expected to add 600 jobs; qualifies for the tax credit because at least 35 percent of new employees will be residents of an enterprise zone or economically disadvantaged individuals
Source: Samsung Austin Semiconductor, Office of Economic Development and Tourism
Officials for the South Korea–based company launched a $3.6 billion capital spending effort in June that will build out the computer chip manufacturer’s second fabrication plant that opened in 2007. In August, Samsung applied for a state tax credit related to job creation worth up to $3.75 million. The following month, company officials donated $1 million to United Way Capital Area to celebrate the expansion.
TXP President Jon Hockenyos said such investments are vital to Austin’s economy, especially considering the competitive global market.
“Knowledge, capital and human resources are the three legs of the technology stool,” Hockenyos said. “A community has to continue to invest in each.”
The investment’s ripple effects will continue to help job growth in Austin. He said Samsung’s direct employment of 1,600 workers will translate into more than 6,000 jobs in support industries.
Starting in 2011, Samsung will manufacture logic chips, which store commands onboard and are used in cellular handsets and digital cameras.
Catherine Q. Morse, spokeswoman for Samsung Austin Semiconductor, said the move will help diversify the company.
“This expansion sends a message to the market that we’re going to be a bigger player in the logic sector, and that’s exciting,” Morse said. “Industry analysts have said we’re an up-and-comer in that market, and we will be here to be reckoned with when it comes to logic in the future.”
Samsung rebounds
Samsung opened its first international fabrication plant in Austin in 1996. By 2011, Samsung will have spent more than $9 billion on its Austin operation, making it one of the largest foreign investors in Texas.
In the late ’90s, Samsung’s Austin plant, commonly called Fab 1, focused on producing Dynamic Random Access Memory, memory chips universally used in personal computers.
At its peak, Samsung employed 900 workers in the 900,000-square-foot Fab 1 but ended production in October 2009 because the personal computer market waned with the declining economy, Morse said.
Samsung soon retooled Fab 1 into a copper processing operation to improve the quality of chips Samsung can make in Austin. Production started in April.
In 2007, Samsung’s Fab 2 opened, but officials were only able to fill about half of its 1.5 million-square-foot capacity. The production line makes NAND Flash memory, commonly used in digital music players and memory sticks. Samsung can make up to 80,000 NAND flash chips every month.
Samsung’s original plan called for the remaining Fab 2 space to be built out to produce more memory chips, but the strong mobile phone market shifted focus to logic chips.
“There is a high demand right now in the semiconductor industry for advanced electronic devices with handsets leading the way,” Morse said. “These chips are the brains of those devices.”
The new operation will be capable of producing about 40,000 logic chips per month by the end of 2011. The larger, more sophisticated chips take about twice as long to make than memory, but the chips also sell for significantly more.
“We have had starts and stops because of the global economic picture, but one could view this investment as a local recession buster,” Morse said. “Had we not expanded in 2007, when DRAM expired, we would have had to close in Austin.”
Local companies benefit
In addition to helping Samsung advance in a market led by such companies as Intel and Texas Instruments, the expansion is contributing to thousands of jobs in support industries, Morse said. For example, about 3,000 construction workers are helping to complete the project.
Jeff Henkener, Austin operations manager for Dynamic Systems Inc., said Samsung has been vital to area contractors.
Austin-based Dynamic Systems employs 250 workers and expects to add about 100 more in the coming months. The mechanical contracting company installs pipes that supply gases, chemicals and water to hundreds of Samsung tools that manufacture computer chips.
“Our volume of work and headcount follows right along with Samsung,” Henkener said. “On large ramp-ups like this, we do a lot of work, but Samsung never stops installing tools because they continue to refine their process.”
For electrical contracting firm JMEG LP, doing business with Samsung has meant the former subsidiary of a national company that went out of business eight years ago can continue operating in Texas.
Ray Naizer, president for JMEG, said Samsung was the company’s first client when the company formed in 2002.
The business relationship has helped JMEG keep 30 permanent workers in Austin. On average, JMEG employs about 100 people each year, but 2010 could be the company’s best year to date. Naizer said the current expansion will push the company’s work force past 250 employees through December.
“It’s not all permanent work, but when you’re able to recall more than 100 people and put them to work, those workers see real economic benefits,” Naizer said. “Samsung has been a wonderful customer that has allowed us to maintain a significant presence in the Austin market and provide good-paying jobs for many employees since our inception.”
Samsung expansion creates jobs for North Austin businesses
By Joseph M. de Leon Friday, 22 October 2010
AUSTIN — At a time when high-tech manufacturing jobs are declining, Samsung Austin Semiconductor LLC is expected to hire 600 workers by mid-2011. It is also credited with contributing to more than 6,500 jobs outside of the company and accounts for nearly $300 million in annual payroll for support businesses.
Samsung’s presence in northeast Austin is also estimated to account for more than $1.4 billion each year in local economic activity, according to a report released in September by economic consulting firm TXP Inc. The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce commissioned the report earlier this year.
Central Texas jobs report
Photo by Carlton Wade
Austin job growth continues in September
By Brian Gaar
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, Oct. 22, 2010
The Austin area continued to add jobs last month mostly in education as the school year began with a 2.3 percent growth rate compared with the same time last year.
The Texas Workforce Commission reported Friday that Central Texas gained 17,300 jobs from September 2009 to last month, for a total of 771,200 jobs.
That growth rate is the highest among major cities, according to Beverly Kerr , the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce's vice president for research.
Kerr, who compiles a ranking of the top 50 metro areas, said that Austin is ahead of Washington, D.C., which had a 2 percent job growth rate last month.
"We've been at the top for it feels like almost as long as I can remember with this recession," Kerr said.
Most of the growth stemmed from area schools and colleges adding staff for the school year, according to the Workforce Commission. Those new positions were part of the 4,000-job gain in the government sector between August and September.
There has also been strong year-over-year growth in leisure and hospitality. That sector has grown by 10,100 jobs since September 2009, as Austin continues to perform strongly in the hotel industry.
Roy Benear , senior vice president of the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau, said it's "totally realistic" to see growth in that sector.
"Compared to other destinations in the industry, Austin and in general terms, Texas on the whole, most of the major destinations have all held up pretty well," he said.
During the past three years or so, the metro area has added 2,000 to 3,000 hotel rooms, he said. The W Austin Hotel has been hiring to fill 300 jobs, ahead of its Dec. 9 opening.
The Austin area's unemployment rate was 6.8 percent, down from 7.2 percent one year ago.
Statewide, the unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent, the lowest number since September 2009, said Ann Hatchitt, a Workforce Commission spokeswoman. The state added 3,700 jobs last month.
Austin's job growth rate continues to outpace that of other major Texas cities.
Dallas was up 1 percent from September of last year, Fort Worth grew 0.9 percent, San Antonio was up 0.7 percent, and Houston grew 0.1 percent, according to state numbers.
Facebook ringing in more jobs for Austin
By Shonda Novak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Updated: 9:09 p.m. Friday, Oct. 22, 2010
Published: 8:33 p.m. Friday, Oct. 22, 2010
As Facebook celebrated the opening of its downtown Austin office Thursday night, officials with the social networking company said they are in full hiring mode locally.
"We're very excited about the future and our prospects for growth here," said Grady Burnett , director of global sales and operations for Facebook Inc.
Burnett said Facebook came to Austin with high expectations and intends to grow a "tremendous amount" of its national business here.
Facebook occupies 29,236 square feet of office space on the 10th floor of the 300 West Sixth building at Sixth and Lavaca streets.
Austin is Facebook's first U.S. expansion of its online sales and operations teams outside of its Palo Alto, Calif., headquarters.
The local office is the front line of communication between Facebook and everyone it interacts with — advertisers, users and companies that develop products and services on Facebook — said Sarah Smith , head of online operations in Austin.
Facebook has more than 60 workers in Austin and is continuing to hire, Smith said. On Thursday night, she and other Facebook executives, along with Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell, rang cowbells — a new tradition for Facebook's Austin office — to mark two more hires.
In addition to a 401(k) plan and medical and dental benefits, the company offers all employees free catered breakfast, lunch and dinner daily; dry-cleaning and laundry services; and a reimbursement for employees who use public transportation.
The perks make it easier for employees to focus on their jobs, Smith said.
Smith said having employees eat together promotes "cross-team collaboration" and a sense of community. She said lot of "intangible things" also get accomplished over meals.
In keeping with a corporate culture that values collaboration and transparency, employees work side by side in an open area, not in offices or cubicles. Meeting rooms have names such as the Broken Spoke, La Zona Rosa and Stubbs.
Under an incentives agreement, the company has committed to hiring 200 people over four years, Burnett said. The company is "comfortable with that number," but he declined to comment on hiring projections beyond that.
Facebook is eligible for $200,000 in tax breaks from the city over 10 years if it creates 200 jobs with annual salaries of $50,000 for staff workers and $85,000 for managers. The state has pledged an additional $1.4 million.
Burnett said Facebook has found "great talent" in Austin, which he said the company was drawn to in part as "a vibrant city with a strong tech background."
Smith said Facebook attracts "smart, entrepreneurial and dynamic people" who thrive in the "collegial" environment of a company that has "a huge impact on the world."
snovak@statesman.com;
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