[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 82 (Thursday, May 17, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6262-S6263]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            IBM CELEBRATION

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today I proudly tell my friends in the 
Senate about an impressive milestone in the history of Vermont 
business. This winter marked 50 years since IBM President Tom Watson 
Jr. opened a manufacturing plant in Essex Junction. Today, IBM is 
Vermont's largest private employer and one of the foundations to a 
growing technology sector throughout our State.
  Many events have and will be planned to celebrate the many 
achievements IBM and its workforce have made in the Green Mountain 
State. Most recently, Vermont Business Magazine ran a collection of 
news pieces and special features in its April 2007 issue about IBM's 
history in Vermont.
  I ask unanimous consent that an op-ed I wrote recognizing the 
successes that IBM and Vermont have enjoyed during the past 50 years be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

              [From Vermont Business Magazine, Apr. 2007]

               IBM's 50 Years of Innovation and Evolution

                       (By Senator Patrick Leahy)

       In 1957, then IBM President Tom Watson Jr. selected 
     Vermont's Essex Junction to

[[Page S6263]]

     build one of his company's key manufacturing facilities. Five 
     decades later, the technology and family of employees at IBM 
     Essex have come to define Northern Vermont as much as the 
     snowy winters, short summers and Yankee ingenuity that lured 
     Tom Watson to the Green Mountains in the first place.
       The Essex Junction plant has been an integral part of IBM's 
     global strategy since its inception. In what has to be 
     considered an incredible ``run,'' IBM Essex has been a 
     worldwide leader in the development, design and manufacture 
     of semiconductor technology for the past 50 years. That is 
     quite an achievement in the cyclical and volatile 
     semiconductor industry and a testament to the tens of 
     thousands of Vermonters--and newly minted Vermonters--who 
     have worked tirelessly to maintain this world-class status 
     for the past five decades. That has meant adroitly adopting 
     strategies and new manufacturing processes over the years. 
     The plant has transformed itself from a general semiconductor 
     manufacturing facility to a high-end specialty logic 
     semiconductor manufacturing facility. This growth--and this 
     change--was possible with the vision and dedication of the 
     designers, engineers, inventors and technicians who work 
     along the banks of the Winooski River.
       IBM, its partners and clients have literally and 
     figuratively altered the economy of Chittenden County and 
     Vermont for generations to come. From software companies big 
     and small, to cutting-edge nano-technology engineering firms, 
     the businesses attracted to IBM and the companies started by 
     former IBM employees have created high-paying jobs and a 
     culture of innovation that are envied across the New England 
     region.
       During my 30 years representing Vermont in the United 
     States Senate, I have worked frequently with IBM's corporate 
     leadership, IBM's local leadership and many of the frontline 
     employees. The federal government recognizes that IBM Essex 
     is a national asset: a world class domestic production 
     facility with the highest reputation for ingenuity and 
     productivity and quality. That is why the Defense Advanced 
     Research Project Agency (DARPA) invested millions in the mask 
     house in Vermont. And that is why it made complete sense for 
     the federal government to select Essex Junction as a 
     ``Trusted Foundry'' to design and produce critical 
     semiconductors resulting in orders as high as $600 million 
     over the next decade.
       The innovation at IBM Essex has played an important role in 
     helping IBM lead the nation in patent creation for more than 
     a decade. Last year alone, 360 patents came directly from the 
     IBM Essex Junction facility--making it one of IBM's top five 
     patent-producing facilities. The fostering and protection of 
     intellectual property is important not only to Vermont but to 
     the nation. During my tenure in the Senate I have made 
     reforms of our patent laws a high priority and I'll continue 
     to press that cause as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary 
     Committee.
       The technology sector has changed dramatically over the 
     past five decades. That IBM Essex has successfully maintained 
     world class leadership despite all of these changes is simply 
     incredible. IBM Essex designs and manufactures microchips for 
     some of the world's leading computer, communications and 
     consumer products companies. Products and technology from IBM 
     in Vermont have helped make computers and electronic products 
     smaller, faster, cheaper and more reliable.
       I would venture to say that Tom Watson's vision for IBM in 
     Vermont has turned out to be a great success. On behalf of 
     all Vermonters, I offer everyone who has made IBM Essex a 
     success a heartfelt thank you, for job after job, done well. 
     Congratulations on fifty years of innovation and prosperity.

                          ____________________