PULASKI — “Nothing is tougher to sell than air,” says Vincent (Vinny) Lobdell, Jr., president of PURE Global. Tough or not, Lobdell and his father Vincent G. Lobdell, president and CEO of a sister company — HealthWay Home Products, Inc. — have set their sights on growing their enterprise to $1 billion in annual sales […]
PULASKI — “Nothing is tougher to sell than air,” says Vincent (Vinny) Lobdell, Jr., president of PURE Global. Tough or not, Lobdell and his father Vincent G. Lobdell, president and CEO of a sister company — HealthWay Home Products, Inc. — have set their sights on growing their enterprise to $1 billion in annual sales by 2023.
Father and son are on a mission to purify indoor space. “Everybody has a right to pure, indoor air,” says the elder Lobdell. “Our goal is to make every environment clean … [by] improving every breath you take … Today, chemicals, disinfectants, and sterilants are causing microorganisms to mutate into ‘super bugs’ … Mold is now considered a greater threat than asbestos, and it’s far more prevalent. U.S. businesses report spending $50 billion a year due to absenteeism, … and the World Health Organization rates infection as the number-one cause of death worldwide.”
HealthWay manufactures air-quality products for residential, commercial, and medical uses as well as for the hospitality industry and the military. The company manufactures disinfecting filtration systems (DFS), portable air cleaners, air-purification systems, air deodorizers and gels, and concentrated green cleaning products branded under the name Terafore. PURE Global started out focusing on creating allergy-friendly, innovative packages to purify hotel rooms. Using its patented technologies, the company has expanded in the hospitality industry to include cruise ships and aircraft and now has ventured into serving schools, offices, and retailers.
“The FDA has classified our filtration systems as Class II medical devices,” says Lobdell, Jr. (Class II medical devices comply with general controls and are also subject to special controls.) “Our systems are effective against bacteria, mold, viruses, fungi, and mildew, killing between 94 and 100 percent [of the foreign agents].” The senior Lobdell “conservatively” estimates the systems are “… 99.9 percent effective.”
World headquarters for both companies is located at 3420 Maple Ave. in downtown Pulaski in Oswego County. In 2009, the Lobdells bought and renovated the former Ontario Iron Works building, a 16,000-square-foot, two-story structure. The construction manager for the project was V Squared Management, LLC, a real-estate holding company owned by Lobdell, Sr. The holding company also owns two other buildings in Pulaski used by the operating companies, comprising about 9,000 square feet. They serve as warehouses. The companies employ 45 in Pulaski and another 135 internationally, including 90 at their manufacturing operation (Shenzhen HealthWay Electronics, Co., Ltd.) in Shenzhen, China. Consolidated revenues total $20 million annually, with 40 percent derived from exports.
So how does a company grow from $20 million annually to a $1 billion in a decade?
“The first thing we did was to stop thinking as a manufacturer concerned with indoor-air quality and think like a provider of indoor-environmental quality (IEQ),” posits the president of PURE. “IEQ focuses on the total quality of a building’s environment [in relation to the health of those occupying the space] … There are many factors to consider: lighting, air quality, temperature, relative humidity, ventilation, and damp conditions, to name [but] a few. Indoor environments are highly complex, and the occupants can be exposed to a variety of contaminants in the form of gases and particles. [These occupants] … need to be concerned with everything from cleaning products, construction activity, carpets, furnishings, and perfumes to cigarette smoke, microbial growth, and insects.”
Lobdell, Jr. refers to this thinking as a “blue-ocean strategy.” He says, “We are creating demand in an uncontested market space, rather than competing with other vendors in an existing industry where your product is seen as a commodity.”
Lobdell, the father, points to the worldwide demand for IEQ as a reason to set an annual goal of $1 billion in revenue by 2023. “A [2012] survey of travelers by the Cornell University Research Institute found that 41 percent either have breathing difficulties or travel with companions who do.” His son adds that “… currently more than 1 million people [around the globe] stay in a ‘pure room’ every, single night. The [hospitality] industry tells us that hotels are typically charging a 10 percent premium for a room that’s free of chemicals and synthetics. That is massive exposure to the need for HealthWay products and a clear indication of the travelling public’s concern. It’s a huge marketing opportunity.”
International opportunities
In their drive to grow, the Lobdells are not restricting their vision geographically. “We already export 40 percent of our products,” says the younger Lobdell. “We have 250 distributors, and our products now reach into 30 countries. Our projection is that we will expand our exports to 70 percent of our business in order to reach our goal.” Lobdell, Sr. adds that “… currently, the companies have three basic revenue streams: 35 percent comes from our own HealthWay brand, 45 percent from contract-manufacturing for private-label accounts, and 20 percent from PURE. All of these areas are showing strong growth, especially in developing markets.”
Lobdell continues: “It takes a different level of management to run a billion-dollar company than a $20 million one. We have already hired key people like Al Rayeff as the chief science officer, Karen Hurd as director of operations, and Chirag Patel as the engineering manager. Our management team also includes Mitchell Lobdell as the plant manager, Jeff Herberger as the vice president/creative director, and Antony Papageorgiou as the COO.” Papageorgiou was the former director of brand services and director of hotel operations for Celebrity Cruises.
In addition to the management team, the Lobdells rely on professional support from area vendors. “We work closely with KeyBank, with whom the company has had a 35-year relationship. We also are working now with Pathfinder Bank … Our accounting is handled by Furgison & Co. [CPA, P.C.] in Pulaski and Robert E. Genant, in Mexico, represents us for general law. Simpson & Simpson [PLLC] near Buffalo does our patent work,” says Lobdell, the father.
On the back of the HealthWay business card is the company motto: “We breathe innovation.” The senior Lobdell, who has a degree in engineering, points to HealthWay’s concentration on research and development. “We have seven engineers on staff focused on R&D. Just look at the level of technology in our products, for which the company holds 23 patents (and a number of trademarks). HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) is the U.S. government’s standard for air filtration. For us, this is just the starting point. Our technology is 150 times more efficient than HEPA, destroying 100 percent of pollutants (at .002 microns, 100 times smaller than the tip of a human hair). Our units contain a seven-stage pre-filter, then a germ-killing zone, and finally the main DFS filter. At PURE, our solutions are customized based on pre-testing and analysis. To succeed, we have to be innovative, cutting edge. Not only do we rely on our own R&D department, but we also collaborate closely with the Center of Excellence (in Syracuse) for research and testing.”
HealthWay and PURE have already developed an impressive customer list including the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic, Shriners Hospitals for Children, and FEMA. In the hospitality field, hotel chains such as Marriott, Wyndham, Hilton, Sheraton, and Hyatt use their products. Crystal Cruises, which defines the luxury travel experience on its liners and in its hotels, has signed on, and in the field of education Harvard University, Florida State University, and the University of California are all customers.
Vincent G. Lobdell began his career in air purification in 1981, when he founded Tektronix, Inc. in Syracuse, a company that sold fire-safety equipment. At the time, the public was concerned with the effects of second-hand, cigarette smoke. Lobdell created an electronic precipitator to filter the smoke, but government regulation banning smoking in public buildings soon forced him to switch to the residential market. A Syracuse University graduate in mechanical engineering with a minor in business, he changed the company name to HealthWay in 1996. Lobdell sold the business to a group of Honeywell investors, who struggled before taking the company into bankruptcy protection. He purchased the rights to HealthWay in 2004 and rebuilt the company to its present size.
Vincent, Jr., 33, graduated from SUNY Oswego in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing/economics. Father and son have just completed a two-year Entrepreneurial Masters Program co-sponsored by MIT and the Entrepreneurs Organization. The program is limited each year to 65 entrepreneurs, each of whom is a founder of a company with more than $1 million in annual revenue. The stated purpose of the program is “… to bring together the next generation of entrepreneurial giants.”
The Lobdells are in constant motion managing the enterprise. “I visited 50 countries by the time I was 30,” declares Lobdell, Jr. Still, the two find time to restore properties in Pulaski and support the community’s historic restoration and downtown revitalization. “I have lived in Pulaski for 30 years,” says the elder Lobdell. “I love this community. [Despite] traveling the world, there is a special beauty to the area. Pulaski is enjoying momentum with the creation of [projects] … like the river walk (Salmon River).”
The Lobdells’ most recent project is the restoration of the Kallet Theater in Pulaski to a 1950s décor. Encouraged by a grant from the Empire State Development Corp. and loans from the Oswego County Industrial Development Agency totaling $780,000, father and son have invested $2,225,000 to restore the 1935 building, which now features not only the movie theater but also doubles as an auditorium for live performances and for celebrations, complete with a commercial kitchen and lounge for the entertainers. The marquee has been rebuilt to serve as a digital billboard alerting the community to what’s happening in town. The theater held its grand re-opening on Nov. 16 with a sold-out performance by the Marshall Tucker Band and the violinist SVET.
HealthWay and its sister companies have generated a 15 percent to 20 percent compounded, annual growth rate that has placed them on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies. To reach the goal of a $1 billion in revenues within a decade, the Lobdells need to accelerate the pace. “We’re in negotiations now with the country’s direct-sales industry leader,” says Lobdell, the father. “This has the potential to blow the lid off our OEM (original-equipment manufacturer) operation. The orders would far exceed our capacity to manufacture the units, so we would have to rely on a contract-manufacturer.”
While Lobdell wouldn’t disclose the name of the company or a timetable to conclude negotiations, his son appeared in a 2011 video shot at a Carico International, Inc. meeting touting HealthWay’s products. According to a story related by the younger Lobdell, who addressed Carico’s sales force at the meeting, Richard R. Cappadona, Carico’s president, and Vincent G. worked closely together to develop an air-purifying device. Carico is located in Ft. Lauderdale in a 100,000-square-foot center that administers the marketing-support and warehouse operations for its wholesale and private-label customers.
The Lobdells are also counting on PURE Global for much of the growth. “At this time, we have zero competition in the PURE room space,” says Vincent, Jr. “We’re the global leader, and we intend to establish our brand [permanently].”
Jud Gostin, the founder and former CEO of Sensis Corp., once told this reporter that what the area needed most was more billion-dollar companies. The Lobdells are determined to join this select group, despite the challenge of selling air. It’s not just their goal; it’s their mission.
GEDDES — Corso’s Cookies is collaborating with the Cornell University Department of Food Science to develop a fast-drying frosting to use in its cookie-decorating process. Corso’s is a Geddes–based manufacturer of custom-decorated cookies and cookie bouquets. The firm was one of four projects awarded funding through the Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR) JumpStart program.
GEDDES — Corso’s Cookies is collaborating with the Cornell University Department of Food Science to develop a fast-drying frosting to use in its cookie-decorating process.
Corso’s is a Geddes–based manufacturer of custom-decorated cookies and cookie bouquets.
The firm was one of four projects awarded funding through the Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR) JumpStart program. Empire State Development’s division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) provides funding for the program, the school said in a news release.
The program is designed to help New York small businesses develop and improve their products through university collaborations, according to the school.
Cornell awards JumpStart projects matching funds of up to $5,000 for project costs that include faculty and research staff, facilities, services, supplies, and materials.
Corso’s makes shortbread cookies that are decorated in a wide variety of designs with different colors, says Michael Ricci, Jr., director of quality at Corso’s Cookies.
The frosting is very thick and it takes time to dry, he adds.
“We must have it fully dried [on cookies] before we can wrap [them],” Ricci says.
If the frosting is still soft when Corso’s wraps the cookies, then that process will “ruin” the design, he adds.
The company partnered with Cornell’s CCMR and the department of food science “to reduce that drying time,” according to Ricci.
The less time Corso’s needs to have frosting drying, the sooner it can get cookies wrapped, labeled, and shipped to its customers, he says.
The firm believes the faster-drying frosting will speed up its ability to serve its current and future clients.
As Corso’s manufacturing operations have grown, and with its sales having doubled what they were a year ago, “the need to reduce that bottleneck” has become a priority.
“We figured if the food scientists at Cornell University can’t figure it out, then … nobody can,” Ricci says.
Pursuing the project
The CNY Technology Development Organization (TDO) suggested Corso’s explore the program a few years ago.
The company applied last summer and Cornell University reviewed its application.
Cornell viewed the Corso’s project as “somewhat unique,” Ricci says, because its faculty and scientists usually deal with a component in an electronic [device] or a piece of software, but Corso’s problem had a “real-world application.”
“You could directly see how it would impact the business,” Ricci says.
Under the program, Corso’s contributes $5,000, and New York provides the matching $5,000 through the JumpStart program. The company applied in late summer and the work started when Cornell’s fall semester started, Ricci says.
The JumpStart award covers “all the research-related expenses,” he adds.
Corso’s is working with Cornell professor Carmen Moraru on the project, and they’ve had meetings in at the company headquarters in Geddes and at the Cornell campus in Ithaca.
The Cornell team is developing a strategy for developing the faster-drying frosting and will share its findings with Corso’s in December, Ricci says.
“We’re going to spend a day testing to make sure that, yes, it worked in very small quantities in a laboratory. Does it [then] work when we run a full day’s production,” he adds.
Once the project is complete, Corso’s is hoping for a frosting that will dry in half the time.
“It’s really a matter of tweaking the ingredients, the content or the percentage,” Ricci says.
The company is then hoping the faster-drying frosting will lead to quicker shipments, which would also result in opening space that’s currently dedicated to cookie storage as the frosting dries.
The additional space would then mean more manufacturing space, which could ultimately lead to something else that’s vital.
“More sales,” says Peter Hess, CEO of Corso’s Cookies.
Hess, his wife Tina Corso-Hess, and Trevor Whiting, who serves as the company’s information-technology specialist, all share ownership of the firm. Hess declined to disclose how much each person owns.
A growing firm
Additional sales would only add to the growth at Corso’s Cookies. In the last few years, the firm has invested “nearly a million dollars” in technology and manufacturing equipment at its 13,000-square-foot plant at 314 Lakeside Road in Geddes, Hess says.
Corso’s Cookies declined to disclose its annual-revenue figure but its employee count has more than doubled since 2010, increasing from 20 to 44 full-time workers, according to Hess.
Corso’s services its retail customers through its website, which launched 10 years ago, and also ships its products to wholesalers and directly to national retailers.
The retailers include New York City–based Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), a retailer of books, eBooks, magazines, toys, games, music, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs; Oklahoma City, Okla.–based Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., which specializes in crafts and home décor; Scranton, Pa.–based Gertrude Hawk Chocolates; and Lebanon, Tenn.–based Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ: CRBL), a restaurant chain that serves home-style county food with retail stores offering gift items and food.
Corso’s Cookies has also provided specifically licensed Buffalo Bills and Syracuse University cookies for Williamsville–based Tops Markets.
International business
Corso’s only services one customer outside the United States. Laura Secord is a Mississauga, Ont.–based chocolate company that has more than 120 locations throughout Canada.
Corso’s doesn’t have many online retail customers outside the U.S. because of the “amount of paperwork” involved, Hess says.
“Shipping even into Canada since 9-11 has changed dramatically. The cost for the consumer doesn’t make it worth it for them or for us to make that transaction,” he adds.
Corso’s is pursuing its safe-quality foods (SQF) certification to make it easier to pursue additional international customers.
When Corso’s attends the annual Sweets & Snack Expo in Chicago, “there’s a lot of interest from overseas buyers, but that food-safety certification is [essential for] getting that business,” Hess says.
SQF is recognized by retailers and foodservice providers around the world who require a “rigorous, credible food-safety management system,” according to the website of the Arlington, Va.–based Safe Quality Food Institute.
The SQF Institute describes its mission as one that aims “to deliver consistent, globally recognized food safety and quality certification programs based on sound scientific principles, consistently applied across all industry sectors, and valued by all stakeholders, according to its website.
Using the SQF certification program will help reduce assessment inconsistencies and costs of multiple assessment standards, the website says.
SYRACUSE — The board of directors at Loretto recently named new senior leadership following the organization’s efforts to streamline its operations. The organization appointed Kimberly Townsend, who has served on Loretto’s board of directors for 10 years, to president and CEO. Townsend has served as board president since 2011, Loretto said in a news release.
SYRACUSE — The board of directors at Loretto recently named new senior leadership following the organization’s efforts to streamline its operations.
The organization appointed Kimberly Townsend, who has served on Loretto’s board of directors for 10 years, to president and CEO.
Townsend has served as board president since 2011, Loretto said in a news release.
Her new position at Loretto will be effective in January.
Loretto appointed Steve Volza as COO of its skilled nursing and housing operations.
Volza, who has worked at Loretto for 38 years, is currently serving as the organization’s senior vice president, Loretto said.
Besides her role on the Loretto board, Townsend has been serving as associate general counsel and senior director of government affairs for Welch Allyn in Skaneateles Falls, Loretto said.
“I have spent my career shaping strategy, solving problems, and building strong relationships. I will bring those strengths to Loretto,” Townsend said in the news release and in her remarks to the board, senior leadership, and community leaders gathered at Loretto for the recent announcement.
She assumes the CEO role from Bruce Buchanan, managing director of Philadelphia, Pa.–based Health Management Partners, LLC (HMP).
HMP is a firm that has worked with Loretto for the past two years to help the organization streamline its operations and establish a “firm financial base,” Loretto said.
Buchanan believes Loretto has a “great future.”
“They have a long-standing reputation in this community as being at the forefront of elder care. They have always been true to their mission. Now, they have the financial foundation necessary to move into the future,” Buchanan said in the news release.
He called Townsend “a visionary leader.”
Townsend thanked HMP for its leadership, Loretto said.
“As we were working with HMP to build a stronger Loretto, we continued to move forward. We currently have $90 million in capital projects planned and underway that are part of the vibrant economic growth of this region,” Townsend said.
The projects include a larger facility for the PACE MacAuliffe Health Center that’s planned in town of DeWitt, Loretto said.
PACE (short for a program of all-inclusive care for the elderly) a separate nonprofit corporation of Loretto, according to its website.
In addition, Loretto in December will begin construction on a second apartment building in Baldwinsville with rent subsidies from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to Loretto.
The projects also include the merger of Mercy Health & Rehabilitation Center and the Cayuga County Nursing Home, both of which are located in Auburn; and the completion of construction of The Cottages at Garden Grove in Cicero, a small-homes project for skilled-nursing eligible residents, the organization added.
The small-homes project is a joint project of Loretto, Crouse Hospital, and St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, Loretto said in its news release.
SHERRILL — A little more than three years after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Sherrill Manufacturing’s reorganization plan received approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York. On Nov. 6, Judge Diane Davis signed off on a plan that repays all Sherrill’s secured creditors and sets the company on
SHERRILL — A little more than three years after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Sherrill Manufacturing’s reorganization plan received approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York.
On Nov. 6, Judge Diane Davis signed off on a plan that repays all Sherrill’s secured creditors and sets the company on the path to eventually repay its remaining unsecured creditors.
Sherrill Manufacturing filed for bankruptcy protection in October 2010, owing more than $2 million to its creditors. Gregory Owens and Matthew Roberts, both former Oneida Ltd. executives, founded the company in 2005, purchasing the former Oneida Ltd. plant in Sherrill.
At that time, Oneida Ltd. employed about 2,500 people and produced about 3.5 million pieces of flatware each week in Sherrill, Roberts, Sherrill’s president, says. The business partners knew Oneida Ltd. would miss having that production capacity locally, even as it continued to move more of its manufacturing offshore, so they built a business model around filling that void for Oneida Ltd.
The result was the formation of Sherrill Manufacturing and a multi-year supply agreement with Oneida Ltd. during which time Oneida continued to phase out domestic manufacturing and sent decreasing amounts of work Sherrill Manufacturing’s way.
By 2008, Sherrill Manufacturing began to shift gears and make plans for when it was free to develop and launch its own brand, says Owens, the firm’s CEO. The company brought in Cephas Capital Partners, LP and received loans from the state to revamp equipment and set up new tooling and patterns for its new Liberty Tabletop brand.
“That’s when the great recession hit,” Owens recalls. The flatware industry as a whole dropped about 50 percent, he says. Companies that Sherrill Manufacturing had sold its new Liberty brand to were now overstocked and slow to place new orders. By May 2010, Sherrill Manufacturing had laid off most of its staff and ceased regular production.
Limited production of the Liberty brand, contract production for companies such as Coffee Joulies, and leasing out some of the 1 million square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space at the plant helped the company a little bit, Owens says, but bankruptcy was inevitable.
While the business partners weren’t entirely sure what to expect from the bankruptcy process both were in agreement that it wasn’t going to mean the end of Sherrill Manufacturing.
“Our goal was always to begin manufacturing again,” Owens says. That’s why the company opted for Chapter 11 reorganization rather than Chapter 7 liquidation. Both Owens and Roberts believed it was very important to keep the company going as the only domestic manufacturer of flatware.
Under the reorganization plan, Sherrill Manufacturing will pay back all of the debt. According to court documents, the company will use $1.4 million it gained from the sale of its facility to ONX3, LLC to repay nearly $1 million to its secured creditors — Cephas Capital Partners, Mohawk Valley EDGE, and the Mohawk Valley Economic Development District. Sherrill Manufacturing will lease back 240,000 square feet of space from ONX3 to continue production of its Liberty brand.
Under the plan, Sherrill Manufacturing will make payments over the next five years to settle its debts with its unsecured creditors. The company will also share profits with creditors until they are paid in full, Owens says. Proceeds from a July 2012 equipment auction were used to offset some of the company’s debt.
Moving forward, Roberts says, the plan is to take Liberty Tabletop from online-only sales and bring it to a brick and mortar retail setting. The company is in talks with several large department stores and hopes to have its Liberty product on their shelves next year, he says.
The Liberty brand has already done well, building sales and brand loyalty with customers looking for quality products made in the United States, he says.
Rather than try to compete with foreign-made products, Owens says, Sherrill Manufacturing touts the quality of its Liberty brand. This has really helped the company stand out at a time when competitors who import are downgrading product quality, he notes. Anywhere from 5 to 10 percent of consumers in the $1 billion industry are looking for products made in the United States, he says.
“The Liberty side of the business is taking off in a way we never imagined,” Owens says. The company is heading into its busy season now as consumers are looking to purchase new flatware for their holiday celebrations or to give as gifts. Sales are typically three to four times higher in November and December than they are the rest of the year, he says. According to court documents, the company projects total revenue this year of $1.9 million.
To meet the production demand, Sherrill Manufacturing rehired five of its laid-off workers, bringing its full-time total to about 20 people. The firm also has about 10 part-time employees that help out, Roberts says. The company owners are being conservative and only hiring people when they are certain they can keep them employed, he notes. By this time next year, Roberts says he hopes to have another 10 employees as the company continues to grow.
The company’s bankruptcy attorney Neil Smith from Mackenzie Hughes LLP in Syracuse praised Owens and Roberts for their commitment not only to keeping their company going but also to repaying Sherrill’s debt.
“Certainly, it would’ve been easy … to turn it into a Chapter 7 or have an immediate auction with a Chapter 11,” he says. “What Matt and Greg did was a genuine accomplishment.”
ITHACA — Jack-of-all-trades, master of none? That’s not the case at BSU, Inc., a woman-owned, contract-assembly manufacturer of electronic-circuit boards that has not only carved out its own niche, but also has thrived in it. “We’re not going to be all things to all people, so let’s just concentrate on doing what we do really
ITHACA — Jack-of-all-trades, master of none? That’s not the case at BSU, Inc., a woman-owned, contract-assembly manufacturer of electronic-circuit boards that has not only carved out its own niche, but also has thrived in it.
“We’re not going to be all things to all people, so let’s just concentrate on doing what we do really well,” company owner and president Christine Houseworth says of her business philosophy.
Ithaca–based BSU got its start in 1989 when Houseworth and Denver Jones, the company’s current vice president, found an underserved niche. It was difficult to find contract-assembly suppliers capable of handling highly technical work in lower volumes, and BSU filled that void, Houseworth says.
After a few years in business, Houseworth says BSU received a request from a large company — which she declined to name for the story — that asked if BSU could handle a quick production run that it couldn’t manage on its own. Houseworth agreed, and that one production run turned into several years of work for the company — complete with shipping products to overseas divisions.
However, over time that company evolved, Houseworth says, and the work seemed to be pulling BSU further and further away from its core values of providing superior technology and service. With so much offshore-manufacturing competition from countries like China, she says, the company would have had to compromise its values in order to be competitive on price. Combine that with other issues like tying up cash flow, and Houseworth says the decision she made about seven years ago to walk away from that customer and the $1.5 million in revenue it brought to BSU was an easy decision to make.
“We were kind of crawling out of our niche,” she says. Her decision brought BSU back to the place where it works best, she contends.
Today, the company focuses on two main areas. For its production customers, BSU produces products such as electronic-circuit boards used in high-tech manufacturing and laboratory equipment. BSU also builds prototypes for clients and can even work with those customers from the early-design stages to help the process flow smoothly.
Houseworth says her business has since recouped that $1.5 million in revenue it walked away from and continues to be stable with reasonable and sustainable growth. She declined to disclose revenue figures, but contends the company is doing “just fine” in that department.
“I’m not in favor of growing too large too quickly,” she says. BSU employs just under 40 people with a varied work load. When things get really busy, Houseworth offers overtime to her employees until the job is done.
To date, the company has not done a great deal of marketing and gains most of its new clients, which span across New York and along the East Coast, through word of mouth from existing clients. Engineers, in particular, serve as ambassadors for BSU and often want to continue to utilize BSU even if they’ve moved on to a new company, Houseworth contends.
Headquartered at 445 E. State St., BSU, Inc. (www.bsuinc.com) currently operates from 17,000 square feet of manufacturing space and has 15,000 square feet available to expand into if necessary, according to Houseworth.
DeWITT — Central New York firms should strongly consider pursuing global sales to generate additional revenue. And, local businesses that are prospering selling overseas are here to share their experiences. That was the message of a recent press event put on by the newly relaunched Central New York International Business Alliance (CNYIBA). Inficon, Inc., a
DeWITT — Central New York firms should strongly consider pursuing global sales to generate additional revenue. And, local businesses that are prospering selling overseas are here to share their experiences.
That was the message of a recent press event put on by the newly relaunched Central New York International Business Alliance (CNYIBA).
Inficon, Inc., a Switzerland–based company that operates a local office in DeWitt, shared its exporting success story.
Exporting plays a “special role” in the economic ecosystem of a region, Peter Maier, president of Inficon, said during his remarks at the press event held Oct. 24 at Inficon’s local office.
Exports now account for close to 70 cents of every dollar of every product that is made at Inficon’s DeWitt facility, Maier said. The firm generates revenue from sales to customers in Korea, Taiwan, China, Germany, and many other countries, he added.
“We export close to $70 million worth of products every year, with much of this money being spent locally on service providers and our employees. This new money now circulates through our local economy and helps grow and strengthen our region as it spreads around,” Maier said.
Inficon produces sensor technologies, advanced process-control software, gas analyzers, leak detectors, and portable chemical-identification systems used in emergency response, environmental health and safety, semiconductor, air conditioning, refrigeration and automotive-manufacturing industries.
Exporting and creating demand for products in international markets can lead to job creation, Maier said.
Inficon has added more than 50 “high value” jobs since 2009. Export growth has been a “big driver” behind the hiring and has helped retain existing jobs, Maier said.
From Inficon’s view, the U.S. economy isn’t growing as fast as others around the globe.
“For example, over the last 10 years, Inficon’s export growth has been at roughly three times the rate that our U.S. sales have grown. Exporting is the only way to participate in faster growth in other parts of the world unless we want to export the jobs with the products,” Maier said.
President Barack Obama in his 2010 State of the Union address set a goal for the United States to double its exports by 2015. Inficon “doubled” its exports by the end of 2012, Maier said.
As a result, the U.S. Department of Commerce on May 20 awarded Inficon the President’s “E” Award for Exports, the “highest recognition any U.S. entity may receive for making a significant contribution to the expansion of U.S. exports,” according to the Inficon website.
The department presented the award to a total of 57 firms, Inficon said.
Maier encourages businesses of all sizes across Central New York to explore the possibility of exporting their goods to international markets.
Helping local companies accomplish that task is the purpose of the CNYIBA, he noted.
About the CNYIBA
The CNYIBA seeks to help the region position itself to achieve the goals that the president and the IBA have outlined, and through CenterState CEO’s Metropolitan Export Initiative, David Mankiewicz, senior vice president and director of infrastructure and urban activities at CenterState CEO, said in his remarks at the Oct. 24 event.
“You might recall, a couple years ago, the Brookings Institution picked Syracuse as one of four pilot cities to launch Metropolitan Export Initiatives. And that really put us in quite a spotlight. It drew attention to the work we’re doing here,” Mankiewicz said.
The CNYIBA is seen as the “implementation vehicle” to achieve the goal outlined in the initiative, released in April 2012.
The organization intends to work with the region’s most experienced exporters and help them reach out into additional markets.
It also wants to work with those small- and medium-sized businesses that might export, but only to a few foreign markets. The CNYIBA also seeks to help the new-to-export companies break into those markets, he said.
“And we don’t want to forget our service providers, because within our particular market, both health care and education have great potential to be new sources of exports,” Mankiewicz said.
This region, collectively, currently has about $8.7 billion worth of exports, Mankiewicz said. But even with that dollar figure, the Central New York region is an “underperformer,” he added.
Mankiewicz, his colleagues at CenterState CEO, and the CNYIBA believe the region’s companies have “a lot of potential” to raise the export market from this region and from this country.
To capture more of that global market, the Central New York region must “boost its international orientation and become more globally engaged,” he said.
Mankiewicz contends local economic developers and the CNYIBA need the “buy in” of the business community to reach that goal.
“And that’s why we encourage businesses of all sizes to make exporting a strategic priority and to get involved with the new CNYIBA,” he said.
The relaunch of CNYIBA follows the 2011 development of the CenterState Export Plan, which a group of regional partners devised with the Brookings Institution, a private, Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit organization that focuses on independent research.
The plan called for a lead agency to provide export services and guidance to local companies, and the CNYIBA holds the designation, the organization said.
The CNYIBA dates back to the mid-1990s, and, in assuming its new role in guiding local companies in the exporting process, the organization has “transitioned,” Mankiewicz said.
BUFFALO — Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Nov. 21 announced New York will build an anchor hub facility for high-tech and green-energy businesses in the city of Buffalo. The effort is part of Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion initiative to attract companies and jobs to the region. Soraa and Silevo, two California–based clean-energy companies, will invest a total
BUFFALO — Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Nov. 21 announced New York will build an anchor hub facility for high-tech and green-energy businesses in the city of Buffalo.
The effort is part of Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion initiative to attract companies and jobs to the region.
Soraa and Silevo, two California–based clean-energy companies, will invest a total of $1.5 billion into the project and relocate “major” parts of their operations to the Buffalo High-Tech Manufacturing Innovation Hub at RiverBend.
The project will create 850 permanent jobs and at least 500 construction jobs and attract additional manufacturing companies to the site, Cuomo’s office said.
The project at RiverBend, formerly Republic Steel, is a 90-acre site that is ready for development, the governor’s office said.
Soraa is a manufacturer of green light-emitting diode (LED) lighting. The company will relocate its corporate research and development and manufacturing operations to RiverBend, investing $750 million and creating 375 jobs.
Silevo is a firm that develops and manufactures silicon solar cells and modules, with an already established manufacturing plant in China, according to the governor’s office.
The first phase of Silevo’s project involves a $750 million investment, which will create at least 475 jobs and involves a 200 megawatt production facility.
It’ll establish its sole North American manufacturing operations at RiverBend, Cuomo’s office said.
New York will invest $225 million in Empire State Development capital to establish infrastructure at the site including water, sewer, utility and roads, the governor’s office said.
It’ll also construct 275,000 square feet of facilities for Soraa and Silevo, as well as purchase and own equipment.
Neither company is receiving direct funding from the state’s $225 million investment, Cuomo’s office said.
New York will also build additional facilities over time to accommodate new manufacturing companies operating in the field of biotech, high tech, and green energy.
The State University of New York (SUNY) Research Foundation will own the facilities and equipment, according to the governor’s office.
SUNY’s University at Buffalo will also benefit from the partnership and contribute to the project’s future growth, according to Cuomo’s office.
The Cuomo administration’s effort to turn Buffalo into a hub for nanotechnology follows the state’s efforts in both Albany and in Utica.
The SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany is backing the Buffalo project and is also partnering with Mohawk Valley EDGE to attract a chip maker to a nanocenter site it’s developing in Marcy on the campus of SUNY Institute of Technology.
DeWITT — Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE: CBU) has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 28 cents per share on its common stock. The dividend will be
ELMIRA — Chemung Canal Trust Company has completed the acquisition of six former Bank of America branch offices located in Auburn, Cortland, Ithaca, and Seneca
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