LITTLE FALLS —Feldmeier Equipment, Inc. of DeWitt, which specializes in the fabrication of stainless-steel storage and processing equipment, today began construction on a “significant” expansion of the company’s operations in Little Falls. Gov. Andrew Cuomo today announced the project in a news release. The expansion will result in the creation of 80 new […]
LITTLE FALLS —Feldmeier Equipment, Inc. of DeWitt, which specializes in the fabrication of stainless-steel storage and processing equipment, today began construction on a “significant” expansion of the company’s operations in Little Falls.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo today announced the project in a news release.
The expansion will result in the creation of 80 new jobs and the retention of nearly 300 existing jobs.
The $8 million project consists of constructing and equipping a new 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility along the Riverside Industrial Parkway, along with additional investment in machinery and equipment at Feldmeier’s existing facilities in Little Falls and DeWitt.
“Growing up in Little Falls, I have always considered it home,” Robert Feldmeier, Sr., founder of Feldmeier Equipment, Inc., said in the news release. “My father worked in this town, [and] my business career started here. It is an important part of Feldmeier’s history and future. We want to see it grow and prosper.”
The projects will make the company “more competitive” and help it maintain a “strong presence” in the Northeast, according to the governor’s office.
“The creation of this new facility and added investment in the company’s existing local operations not only support the creation and retention of nearly 400 jobs, but it also furthers the commitment that this family-run company has made to New York State and our other industries such as breweries and yogurt producers,” Cuomo said in the news release.
Empire State Development (ESD), New York’s primary economic-development agency, is supporting the expansion and upgrades with a total investment of $750,000 through the combination of a $200,000 capital grant and $550,000 in Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits.
Both incentives are performance-based and tied to project completion and job-creation commitments. ESD’s assistance was “necessary” in order to keep the expansion in New York, according to the governor’s office.
Feldmeier Equipment also has manufacturing facilities in Alabama, Iowa, and Nevada, the state said.
The Herkimer County location competed with sites in both Iowa and Nevada for this expansion. ESD believes 190 existing jobs in New York were “at risk” if the firm decided to expand at either out-of-state site.
The family-owned operation began in 1952 when founder Robert Feldmeier, Sr. developed the world’s first Triple Tube Heat Exchanger. Since then, a long list of innovative and patented ideas helped Feldmeier to emerge as “an industry leader for stainless steel processing equipment,” the governor’s office said.
Today, the company services the pharmaceutical, biotech, cosmetic, food, and dairy industries with five facilities throughout the U.S.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com