Area Development
Vuzix, a global manufacturer of waveguides, wearable display technologies and augmented reality solutions, will expand its operations in Monroe County, New York. The project is expected to create 66 jobs.

The company will expand its existing footprint by up to 40,000-square-feet, adjacent to its current Henrietta location, to accommodate the addition of multiple new waveguide manufacturing lines.

"There's no better place to expand our manufacturing operations than here in West Henrietta,” said Paul Travers, Vuzix President & CEO said. “Our growing pipeline of OEM business, particularly the interest we’ve received for our custom optical waveguides for use in 3rd party augmented reality devices, is a leading driver. We're delighted to receive support from the Empire State Development’s Excelsior Jobs Program to help us fast track the growth of our facility and meet the expected demand from our OEM partners."

Empire State Development is supporting Vuzix with its expansion by providing up to $1 million through the Excelsior Jobs Tax Credit Program in exchange for performance-based job creation commitments. Monroe County, the Town of Henrietta, RG&E and Greater Rochester Enterprise are also assisting the company with the project. The total project cost has been placed at a little over $21 million.

“New York State, and the Finger Lakes region in particular, are home to some of the most talent-rich tech companies in the world,” noted Empire State Development President and CEO and Commissioner, Hope Knight. “By supporting visionary businesses like Vuzix that are committed to growing next-generation technologies in the state, we are bolstering the economy, creating good-paying jobs, and generating even more opportunities to move the Finger Lakes forward."

Founded in 1997, Vuzix products include personal display and wearable computing devices that offer users a portable high-quality viewing experience, and OEM solutions that support custom wearable displays and augmented reality devices. In addition to its Monroe County location, the company also maintains operations in Oxford in the United Kingdom and in Tokyo, Japan.