Week in Review: December 14 – December 18, 2020
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CEG IN THE NEWS
Times Union: Pitch Your Pivot winners announced
Times Union: Capital Region has most drug manufacturers of any NY region
REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Jahnel Group workforce hits 100; Schenectady software firm started with 3 in 2012
“The downtown software development company that began with three employees in 2012 — actually two owners and one employee — saw its workforce reach triple digits last week.
The growth of the Jahnel Group in eight years has been a steady line, not a jagged series of spikes, and the two brothers who founded the company credit its internal culture for this.”
“A new brewery is in the works at a historic Main Street location.
Owned and operated by Tim Cornelison Jr. and his father, Tim Cornelison Sr., Old Factory Brewing Company is gearing up to open in early January. Located at 628 Main St., the old factory bottled Coca-Cola in the 1930s, according to the town website.”
PrimaLoft wins Popular Science award for cleaner manufacturing process
“PrimaLoft in Colonie was awarded the Best of What’s New Award for sports and outdoor activities by Popular Science, the well-known science and technology publication.
The award is for the manufacturing process that PrimaLoft uses for its synthetic insulation used in winter coats and other products known as P.U.R.E., which stands for “produced using reduced emissions.” The process cuts carbon emissions by half from what they typically have been.”
Plug Power’s fuel cells will help Walmart meet online demand
“Plug Power of Latham says it has a new sales agreement with Walmart to expand the use of the company’s fuel cells within Walmart’s eCommerce network. Plug Power’s hydrogen fuel cells are used as a power supply in forklift trucks in warehouses operated by Walmart and other large retailers like Amazon.
The deal will expand Plug Power’s reach to Walmart’s eCommerce business, which utilizes Walmart’s existing distribution centers for online sales of both its own products and third party retailers. These types of sales surge during the holidays and have increased during the pandemic, and the additional fuel cells with help Walmart meet peak demand.”
Hydraulics repair business opens in Wilton
“A new hydraulics repair shop has sprung up in on Gurn Springs Road.
VJP Hydraulics opened in August at 354 Gurn Springs Road, in the same building as Adirondack Tree Surgeons.”
“A year after surpassing $100 million in sales for the first time, FPI Mechanical invested seven figures expanding in-house manufacturing capacity and acquired a competitor to position itself to take on larger and more complex jobs.
The 35-year-old Cohoes plumbing, pipefitting, heating and ventilation company is on pace to break last year’s sales total, remaining one of the largest mechanical contractors in the 11-county Albany region.”
Sales tax revenue continues to lag, but Capital Region counties faring better than many
“Wide fluctuations continue in sales tax collections, an important source of funds for state and local governments struggling to meet their expenses during a health crisis that started in March and a fiscal crisis that immediately followed.
Despite the shutdown of many parts of the economy earlier this year, sales tax collections for the first 11 months in 2020 are only a few percentage points lower in most Capital Region counties than during the same period in 2019.”
Solar Foundations USA targets Clifton Park for expansion
“Solar Foundations USA Inc. of Delaware is targeting property near Northway Exit 10 in Clifton Park as the site of a potential Northeast manufacturing, distribution and research center.
President Mike Zuritis wants to construct a $2.2 million, 24,000-square-foot building on Wood Road less than a mile from Exit 10 of the Interstate 87 Northway.”
