Gunlocke Company completes expansion at manufacturing facility in Steuben County

WAYLAND, N.Y. — The Gunlocke Company, a commercial furniture manufacturer in Steuben County, has completed a $2.6 million expansion project with the help of a state economic-development incentive package.

The expansion included the creation of 110 jobs at its factory in Wayland, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a news release issued Tuesday.

The expansion, which utilized existing space at the facility, included the installation of equipment that will allow the firm to increase its chair-production volume. The expanded manufacturing plant is also now able to manufacture additional furniture lines that were formerly produced outside this state.

The incentives include a low-cost power allocation from Cuomo’s ReCharge NY program, which the New York Power Authority (NYPA) administers. A $250,000 funding award from Empire State Development is also part of the package.

The state allocated 1,680 kilowatts of ReCharge NY power for the Gunlocke facility.

ReCharge NY — Cuomo’s discount power program — offers reduced energy costs for qualifying businesses and nonprofit organizations “in exchange for commitments to retain or create jobs in New York,” per the release.

The NYPA power allocation and an ESD funding award of $250,000 are directly tied to Gunlocke’s completed expansion project and job commitments.

Gunlocke is also the first ReCharge NY power recipient to install state-supported electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in its employee-parking area, Cuomo’s office said. The two dual-port EV charging stations were installed through a program partnership between NYPA and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to provide charging stations to ReCharge NY recipients “interested in advancing their business’s sustainably and environmental goals.” NYSERDA contributed $4,000 per charging port.

About ReCharge NY

ReCharge NY offers up to seven-year power contracts. Half of the power is 455 megawatts (MW) from NYPA’s Niagara and St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt hydroelectric power plants. The remaining 455 MW is power purchased by NYPA on the wholesale market.

The ReCharge NY program supports 37 businesses and nonprofit organizations in the Southern Tier, directly supporting the creation or retention of nearly 26,000 jobs and more than $2.1 billion in capital investments, per Cuomo’s office.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com