CEG Economic Development Week in Review – February 18 – February 22, 2019
Stay up-to-date on business and economic development happenings in the Capital Region with the CEG Economic Development Week in Review. Don’t miss out on the developments that are transforming the region by following us on:
CEG IN THE NEWS
Daily Gazette: Leaders hope Amazon deal’s collapse won’t hurt region
VentureB Series returns to Pat’s Barn Tuesday
REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEWS
New IBM center at SUNY Poly expected to create 316 jobs in Albany
“The $300 million artificial intelligence center that New York state is establishing at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany in partnership with IBM is expected to create 326 new computer chip industry jobs over the next five years.
In its deal with the state announced on Feb. 7, IBM has committed to spend $2 billion over the next five years on research and development in Albany and at its main research lab in Yorktown Heights on both the AI center and the Center for Semiconductor Research, a long-standing computer chip research program at SUNY Poly.”
Metal fabricator moving production shop to Rotterdam
“A downstate metal fabricator will move its production shop from New Lebanon to Rotterdam, officials announced this past week.
RISA Management Corp. hopes to gain better access to talent, transportation and new business opportunities with the move, said D. Savi Prashad, the company’s founder, president and CEO.”
‘Believe in it’: Businesses are taking a chance on Hudson Falls
“In shorts and a T-shirt, Rick Conley was crouched against the stairwell of The Strand Theatre on Feb. 6, smoothing spackling paste onto the wall.
“It’s a labor of love,” he said, getting up and looking around the 1881 brick building that day by day receives a little more TLC from volunteers like himself.”
Flomatic Corp. completes major expansion in Glens Falls
“Flomatic Corp. Chief Executive Officer Bo Andersson said quality is the reason why his company is successful.
Customers are willing to pay more for his product.”
Schools work to address skills gap
“Skilled labor employers have been feeling the shortage of qualified workers in the area for years now, according to Griff Thomas, an operations manager at Miller Mechanical Services in Glens Falls.
One place Thomas has found qualified candidates recently is graduates from the BOCES welding program. Miller Mechanical currently has five graduates of the program, some of whom were hired right out of high school.”
“Plug Power is starting production of its next generation fuel cells that Plug says will last longer with built-in technology to monitor more closely.
The Latham fuel cell manufacturer plans to show the new GenDrive technology for industrial lift trucks this week at a conference in Germany.”
State ready to seek bids for new Wadsworth lab
“The state is getting ready to seek construction bids to build the new $750 million Wadsworth Center in Albany.
Wadsworth, the state’s public health lab that does everything from rabies testing to research on spinal cord injuries, traces its roots back to 1901 when the state created an antitoxin lab that developed treatments for diseases such as diphtheria and anthrax.”
Why Troy Industrial executives just spent six months commuting to Maine
“When the general manager of Troy Industrial Solutions’ conveyor manufacturing plant in Maine quit unexpectedly last fall, Jason Smith decided to make some changes.
The president of Troy Industrial Solutions in Watervliet acquired the former Lane Conveyors and Drives plant in October 2015 and it wasn’t running the way he expected.”
Capital Region airports to get $3.6M in state funding
“The Albany International Airport will install a $1.4 million photovoltaic solar array with funding from New York state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday. Another $1 million in state funds will be used for a new aircraft hangar at Schenectady County Airport.
Saratoga County Airport has received $719,000 to build a storage building for snow removal equipment, while Columbia County Airport will spend $510,000 in state funds on a new airport fueling facility.”
Biomedical initiative receives $250K grant
“A regional economic initiative to bring biomedical innovations to market was awarded a $250,000 economic development grant Wednesday by National Grid.
The Biomedical Acceleration and Commercialization Center at Albany Medical College received a grant from National Grid to provide direct financial assistance to BACC biomedical startup companies for commercialization needs and access to experts.”
