BLUEFORS PARTNERSHIP

Bluefors’ Contributions to Quantum Computing Lead an Ecosystem of Advanced Manufacturing and Tech Innovation in Onondaga County

When a homegrown operation becomes an international industry leader, that’s pretty cool. Founded in 1963 as Cryomech, world-leading cryocooler manufacturer Bluefors Syracuse has taken huge leaps driven in part by collaboration with Onondaga County.

“We’ve been here in Central New York for over 60 years and we want to be here for another 60 years,” said Bluefors Syracuse President Rich Dausman, who started working at Cryomech in 1976. “So, we’re always looking further ahead and what it’s going to take to continue to innovate and continue to grow – this expansion is an investment in that.”

Bluefors Syracuse actually expanded twice over the course of just five years, investing around $16 million in its facilities in 2019 and putting forth another $16 million in 2023. That was the year Finland-based Bluefors acquired Cryomech, which had grown side-by-side with the company as its primary supplier for years.

Cryogenic technology is critical for scientific research of all kinds as it cools environments to ultra-low temperatures for experiments. The pulse tube cryocooler that Cryomech developed around 2000 eventually became key to the quantum computer advancement that’s revolutionizing the tech industry.

“We’ve always had a passion to continue to innovate and provide groundbreaking technology that pushes the science,” Dausman said. “Quantum computing needs that refrigeration.

“So, we’re an arm’s length away from the IBMs, the Googles, the Intels that are actually trying to make these quantum computers,” he said. “Without our technology, they wouldn’t be able to do what they do.”

The company collaborated with Onondaga County for its 2019 expansion, which deepened Bluefors’ interest in joining forces with Cryomech. Following the acquisition in 2023, Bluefors decided to expand again to strengthen production capabilities as well as a critical research and development component.

“The Bluefors project is significant in that it continues to formalize our leadership in advanced manufacturing here in the county, specifically with cryogenics and emerging technology in the quantum computing space,” Onondaga County Executive J. Ryan McMahon II said. “It’s very important for numerous disciplines across the field and that impacts various sectors.

We truly are becoming a hub for advanced technology manufacturing and this project continues that trend,” McMahon said. “What’s great is we are making workforce investments throughout the community that Bluefors will be able to benefit from, just like Micron and other advanced technology manufacturers.”

Under McMahon’s leadership, the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency has worked closely with Micron Technology, a semiconductor manufacturer with plans to invest more than $100 billion in a megafab facility that will transform the local economy. Onondaga County prioritizing tech-related investment accordingly to build a solid ecosystem here.

Working with the County Executive, working with OCIDA, to attract that kind of outside investment that grows our community and broadens our tech base,” OCIDA Executive Director Robert Petrovich said. “Now we’re attractive because people not only within the state, but from outside of New York and even outside of the country.

“They’re coming to look at us and consider us for investment because they see other people having success here, and they recognize that they too can be successful here,” he said.