August 27, 2012

M+W Group on hiring spree

By: Larry Rulison

Source: Times Union

Global builder looks to job fair to fill 50 spots as it eyes other projects

ALBANY — Showing why it decided to move its headquarters from a semiconductor hub in Texas to the Watervliet Arsenal, M+W Group is holding a job fair Tuesday at Albany NanoTech on Fuller Road in the hopes of filling more than 50 jobs — some of which pay more than $100,000 annually.

M+W is the company that led the construction of the $7 billion GlobalFoundries computer chip factory in Saratoga County, and it also helped to build much of Albany NanoTech, the sprawling high-tech campus of the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.

Even though M+W has been winding down its operations at the GlobalFoundries site as the first phase of the project comes to a close, Richard Whitney, the CEO of M+W's U.S. operations, wouldn't rule out that the company would compete for the contract for a $2 billion expansion that is about to get under way.

"M+W — this is what we do," Whitney said last week. "GlobalFoundries is going through that selection process right now."

Whitney did say, however, that the company's latest hiring spree isn't just about local projects, but high-tech construction that the company is overseeing all over the world. Salaries range from $40,000 to more than $100,000 for positions that range from engineers to architects and support staff.

The company is also planning a $1 million scholarship fund for the NanoCollege that it says shows that the company's interests are aligned not only with the school but also with the growth of the area's high-tech workforce and economy.

"That's an initiative that we want to be a part of," Whitney said.

Alain Kaloyeros, the CEO of the NanoCollege, said that the goal of the job fair is also to get women and minority groups more involved in the local high-tech scene. He said that the Cuomo administration, which has supported the college with hundreds of million of dollars in funding despite trying to cut back on government spending, has been pushing M+W and others to target and seek out underrepresented groups for employment opportunities.

"It requires the private sector to be open to it," Kaloyeros said.

Registration for the job fair — being held at 257 Fuller Road — begins at 4:30. Presentations about job opportunities begin at 5:15 p.m., and interviews with job candidates will start at 5:45 and go until about 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.