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Greystone announces new office locations in Boston, NYC areas
FAYETTEVILLE — Greystone Envolutions, LLC, an environmental-engineering and consulting firm headquartered in Fayetteville, has kicked off 2013 with a pair of new offices and some
Cornell student-run restaurant begins second semester in business
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High-end audio brand McIntosh expands its global focus
BINGHAMTON — On Oct. 8, 2012, Fine Sounds SpA of Milan, Italy bought 100 percent of the stock in McIntosh Laboratory, Inc., located at 2 Chambers St. in Binghamton. The seller was D+M Group, a company formed in 2002 and headquartered in Mahwah, New Jersey. McIntosh, a global leader in prestige home-entertainment and quality audio
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BINGHAMTON — On Oct. 8, 2012, Fine Sounds SpA of Milan, Italy bought 100 percent of the stock in McIntosh Laboratory, Inc., located at 2 Chambers St. in Binghamton. The seller was D+M Group, a company formed in 2002 and headquartered in Mahwah, New Jersey.
McIntosh, a global leader in prestige home-entertainment and quality audio systems, conducts all of its research and development and manufacturing at the Binghamton site. An entry-level system starts at a few thousand dollars and reaches $800,000 for a high-end system.
Fine Sounds is a holding company that owns a stable of quality audio producers: Sonus Faber, an Italian company that builds loudspeakers; Audio Research Corp. in Minneapolis, which manufactures vacuum-tube and solid-state electronic audio components; Wadia Digital, also based in Minneapolis, dedicated to digital-audio reproduction; and Sumiko, a Berkeley, Calif.–based importer and distributor of quality audio components. Fine Sounds, in turn, is owned by Quadrivio SGR, an Italian private-equity firm managing a family of funds in excess of $300 million. The middle-market firm is authorized by the Bank of Italy and independently managed.
“The acquisition represents a strategic direction for our company to be a leader in the international, luxury-audio arena and to have products that are the best in the world in their category,” Mauro Grange, CEO of Fine Sounds Group, said in a news release. “With the distribution synergies we will have with our other outstanding brands, McIntosh will be positioned for substantially accelerated global growth … McIntosh will help strategically strengthen our brand portfolio, allowing us to have a broader product offering … [presenting] customers a complete solution,” Grange concludes.
The McIntosh Laboratory story
The company story begins with Frank H. McIntosh, who began his career with Bell Telephone Laboratories. During World War II, he was head of the radio and radar division of the War Productions Board, which led him into a post-war business requiring high-power, low-distortion audio amplifiers. Dissatisfied with what was then available, McIntosh launched his own company in 1949 in Silver Spring, Md. In 1951, the company relocated to Water Street in Binghamton and in 1956 moved to its present Chamber St. location. The McIntosh name gained international fame when its products were used at President Lyndon B. Johnson’s inauguration speech, the Woodstock Festival in 1969, and concerts by the Grateful Dead in 1974, where their amplifiers were called the “wall of sound.” Japanese audio-maker Clarion bought the firm in 1990 and sold it in 2003 to D+M.
Charles (Charlie) Randall, the current McIntosh president, says the company “… employs 140, of whom 132 are employed in Binghamton … Annual revenues total $40 million to $50 million, and exports represent 55 percent of the revenue … We use a distributor/dealer network to sell our products, of which 97 percent are bought by residential customers … [We] currently have 43 distributors representing McIntosh in 80 countries … The site has two buildings: the manufacturing facility which is 80,000 square feet and the research-and-development building which is another 10,000 … The company owns the real-estate.”
Randall says, “McIntosh holds 43 patents and 34 trademarks. Our R&D team includes 21 dedicated employees, including 11 engineers with specialties in electronics, acoustics, software, mechanics, production, and quality-assurance … One of the advantages our company has in attracting outstanding engineering talent is that we are small enough that our engineers are involved in the entire process from concept to [execution], unlike a large company where they may only work on a piece of the project.”
Randall himself is an electrical engineer who interned at McIntosh when he was 19. After graduating from the Rochester Institute of Technology, he joined the company full-time and was appointed CEO in 2001. He is celebrating both 28 years with McIntosh and his 50th birthday.
Randall has a clear demographic profile of his customers. “We target affluent people, those with expendable income … We’re marketing to architects, contractors, and those people who are building $5-million homes and buy yachts … That’s why we’re sponsoring a car auction at Amelia Island and events at Pebble Beach … You don’t have to spend $20,000 for a watch or more for one of our systems unless you are looking for the best … When you are 45-55 years old and the kids are out of the house or graduated from college, you think about buying something for yourself … When you were younger, you appreciated good music and now you appreciate quality,” says Randall.
Since the days of Frank McIntosh, who demanded perfection, the firm that bears his name is consumed with controlling its quality. That’s why Randall refuses to send any of his work overseas; he insists that everything be done at the Binghamton plant. The vision of perfection, of producing the best quality, begun 64 years ago is alive and well at McIntosh.
“The company is set to continue growing,” says Randall. “Our exports have climbed at least 10 to 12 percent each year, and now we’re positioned [with the new ownership] to leverage our marketing and distribution globally … Our future is bright.”
Contact Poltenson at npoltenson@tgbbj.com
Chobani: keeping its foot on the accelerator
NORWICH — “Our cows are working overtime,” New York State Senator James L. Seward (R–Oneonta) was quoted as saying at the New York State Yogurt Summit held in Albany in August 2012. Seward, who represents the Senate district in which Chobani is located (Chenango County), offered his comment following Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who boasted that
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NORWICH — “Our cows are working overtime,” New York State Senator James L. Seward (R–Oneonta) was quoted as saying at the New York State Yogurt Summit held in Albany in August 2012. Seward, who represents the Senate district in which Chobani is located (Chenango County), offered his comment following Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who boasted that New York’s yogurt industry included 29 plants, consumed 1.2 billion pounds of milk annually, and employed over 8,000 people. Sheldon Silver, the State Assembly Speaker (D–Manhattan) who is not known for hyperbole, thought that the state could become “… the yogurt capital of the United States, if not the world.”
Explosive growth
Driving this yogurt explosion is Chobani, Inc., headquartered at 147 State Highway 320 in Norwich. The company controls 50 percent of America’s Greek yogurt market, according to Nielsen Co. data and 17 percent of the total yogurt market according to Chicago-based research firm SymphonyIRI Group.
Chobani, founded by Hamdi Ulukaya, delivered its first 200 cases in 2007. “Today, we ship two million cases weekly,” according to Chobani’s chief financial officer, James McConeghy. Annual sales have rocketed from $1 million in the first year of shipping product to over $700 million by the end of fiscal year 2012.
McConeghy projects sales “… of more than $1 billion dollars for 2013, as a new $450-million, 1-million-square-foot plant in Twin Falls, Idaho comes on line.” The plant officially opened on Dec. 17, 2012 and has the capacity to equal the 3 million pounds-per-day of milk consumption of the South Edmeston, New York facility. In 2012, Inc magazine clocked Chobani’s revenue growth at 2,662 percent for the preceding three years.
Chobani’s growth is all the more surprising when you consider the company mixes milk and cultures in New York, not the Internet and software development in Silicon Valley. No company in history has scaled up more quickly except for the daily-deal web company Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN), which required extensive venture-capital investment and has had difficulty generating substantial profit.
“Chobani is very profitable,” said Ulukaya last August at a luncheon held at the Century Club in Syracuse. The company has grown with no outside investment, “relying on conventional bank loans and cash flow,” says McConeghy. Bank of America is the firm’s lead banker. Bloomberg’s “Billionaires Index” now includes Ulukaya, who is the sole stockholder in Chobani, with a net worth of $1.1 billion.
Chobani began as Agro-Farma, Inc. in 2005 when Ulukaya bought a shuttered Kraft yogurt plant in South Edmeston with the help of a $700,000 SBA loan. Starting with just five employees, Chobani now employs 2,000 with 1,300 in Central New York. Besides its New York and Idaho locations, Chobani bought Bead Foods in Melbourne, Australia in July 2011, an award-winning yogurt and dessert maker, and established Chobani Australia. The company regularly ships its products by air to England, where it is distributed in a number of retail outlets. McConeghy says “we’ve had a good reception both in England and Australia.” Chobani also distributes its products to Canada. He adds that the company now “… owns more than 2 million square feet of space.”
Secrets of success
Some of Chobani’s meteoric rise can be attributed first to timing. Greek yogurt is the hottest product to hit the food market in years, according to Robert Ralyea, senior extension associate at Cornell University’s Food Processing and Development Laboratory. Greek yogurt now makes up 36 percent of the $6.5 billion in total U.S. yogurt sales, according to the investment firm AllianceBernstein.
Second, Ulukaya aggressively expanded his production and marketing to meet the growing demand. Third, he doesn’t believe in customer research, preferring to listen to the consumers directly and insisting that feedback and complaints come to his smart phone. Fourth, America’s king of Greek yogurt is a perfectionist. He spent two years developing his product before he released it, insisting on using the traditional straining process of his native Turkey, using only real fruits, and ensuring a probiotic, natural product — either low in fat or with no fat and hormone free. Chobani yogurt is also gluten-free, and free of corn, nut, and soy allergens. Ulukaya even oversaw the design and manufacture of the containers into which the yogurt would be poured.
Chobani’s success also depends on offering variety. In January 2011, the company released Chobani Champions, its first option to the standard six-ounce cup. Champions packs two ounces of low-fat Chobani yogurt and fruit puree in a tube, eliminating the need for a spoon. The product is targeted to kids. In June 2012, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D–NY) announced a plan to make Greek yogurt “… an affordable, healthy (sic) option for public-school meals.” Chobani has also introduced Chobani Bites, a 3.5 ounce, four-pack container of its yogurt with 100 calories or fewer and Chobani Flip, a square yogurt package containing nuts, dried fruit, and granola for mixing.
Variety doesn’t just come in packages. Last year, Chobani opened a Mediterranean yogurt bar at 150 Prince St. in New York City’s SoHo district. McConeghy says the “store is a big hit … we get a lot of foot traffic,” offering different toppings for customers to create their own blends. McConeghy is non-committal on calling the SoHo store a pilot project or the beginning of a retail chain. “The SoHo store is a test,’ says McConeghy. “We want to expose people to Chobani.”
McConeghy also attributes Chobani’s success to the employees, whom he describes as “passionate, hard-working, and dedicated to growing the company.” In particular, the CFO cites the leadership team at Chobani: Ulukaya, CEO and president; Kyle O’Brien, executive vice president of sales; Halil Ulukaya, VP of operations; Grace Simmons, chief of staff and VP of strategic initiatives; Nicki Briggs, director of communication; John Heath, senior vice president of innovations and interim chief marketing officer; and Craig Gomez, head of global HR
McConeghy is clearly a key employee on the Chobani team. His 30-year career in business includes being the vice president of finance at Bausch & Lomb and a principal at Signet Management, LLC. McConeghy is a CPA who also earned his MBA at the William Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester. He started at Chobani three years ago as the interim CFO, before assuming the title.
Hamdi Ulukaya came to the U.S. in 1994 to learn English and to take some business courses. He started in business making feta cheese at a plant in Johnstown (Fulton County) when he saw an ad in 2005 for the closed Kraft plant. Convinced that Americans could enjoy Greek yogurt as a snack, a side dish, or as an ingredient in cooking, Ulukaya bought the Kraft plant, planning to scale up.
His success and that of the other state yogurt makers has strained New York’s current capacity to supply raw milk. Because Greek yogurt requires three times as much milk as non-strained yogurt and Americans are devouring Greek yogurt, “the state has a five percent milk deficit,” Ulukaya said at the August 2012 luncheon in Syracuse. Dairylea, a milk-farmers co-op headquartered in Syracuse, supplies most of Chobani’s milk. The state is encouraging its dairy farmers to increase their herds to keep up with demand
Ulukaya is poised to make Sheldon Silver’s dream a reality: New York as the world’s yogurt capital. At age 40, Ulukaya has the energy, money, marketing savvy, and organizational talent to remain the U.S. market leader and the ambition to be the world leader. But Chobani does face headwinds.
Challenges
First, there is competition from major yogurt makers like Fage, Dannon, Mueller Quaker Dairy (a joint venture between PepsiCo and a German dairy company), and Yoplait to potentially displace Chobani’s lead. McConeghy’s response is that “there is plenty of room for all the competitors to grow. Americans consume only half the yogurt of Canadians and one-sixth the yogurt of Europeans.” Second, Chobani has to constantly battle for retail refrigerated space as it offers new products and steps up its production. Third, the company faces a continuing problem of whey disposal. Whey is a thin, acidic liquid by-product of the yogurt process. Chobani currently pays area farmers to take the whey and use it as fertilizer and as a feed supplement. The company is in contact with New York state and with research groups to find alternate uses of whey such as conversion to biogas or bio-plastics.
Fourth, Ulukaya’s ex-wife, Ayse Giray, sued the yogurt-maker last August in New York state court, according to multiple published reports. She claimed that the couple launched a cheese-making operation in 1997 called Euphrates using her credit and a $200,000 investment. Ayse and Hamdi remained business partners after the divorce in 1999, and she claims that she gave Hamdi another $300,000 between 2002 and 2003 to help expand Euphrates into other dairy products. The ex-wife is claiming a 53-percent stake in Chobani, according to the media reports.
Full speed ahead
Ulukaya has been generous to the community. “He set up the Shepherd’s Gift Foundation (Chobani is the Turkish word for “shepherd”) and annually gives 10 percent of the company’s net profit to dozens of organizations,” says McConeghy.
Ulukaya has clearly taken Chobani from a boutique maker of Greek Yogurt to a national powerhouse and, in the process, put New York state on the yogurt map. He has created an industry and attracted a growing field of competitors to help quench America’s growing appetite, which at this point appears unlimited. While no one can predict the future, there is one thing that is predictable: Chobani is not putting the brakes on anytime soon.
“The company is innovative, aggressive, and nimble,” says McConeghy as he tries to stay ahead of the curve of a company experiencing rocket-like growth.
Contact Poltenson at npoltenson@tgbbj.com
Meier Supply opens new headquarters
CONKLIN — “We’ve only been in our new headquarters building about four weeks,” says Frank A. Meier, Jr., president and CEO of Meier Supply Company, Inc. on Feb. 7. “We needed to add another 20,000 [square] feet to our [former] headquarters and distribution center in Johnson City, and the addition would have used up our
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CONKLIN — “We’ve only been in our new headquarters building about four weeks,” says Frank A. Meier, Jr., president and CEO of Meier Supply Company, Inc. on Feb. 7. “We needed to add another 20,000 [square] feet to our [former] headquarters and distribution center in Johnson City, and the addition would have used up our available acreage to expand further.” The company headquarters is now located at 275 Broome Corporate Parkway in the town of Conklin.
The other impetus to move was Meier’s memory of the 2006 and 2011 floods. The 2006 flood was “devastating … It cost the company $1 million at a time when we had no flood insurance … The flood hit in July during our busiest season, but thanks to our employees and our suppliers who expedited delivery and extended payment terms we were back up in a week … That flood, which was supposed to occur once every 500 years, got us thinking about moving … The flood of 2011 convinced us,” says Meier.
Meier Supply — founded in 1957 by Meier’s grandfather and father who bought the refrigeration division of W. A. Case, Inc. in Johnson City — is a wholesale distributor to the refrigerant, heating, and air-conditioning industries. The company furnishes supplies and equipment as well as training from its 17 locations throughout New York and Pennsylvania. Meier Supply represents leading industry brand names such as Ruud, Mitsubishi, and DuPont.
Frank A. Meier, Jr. joined the company in 1975, when “my father convinced me to give up my carpet-installation business. At the time, Meier [Supply] had seven employees, and we did $1 million in [annual] revenue,” notes Meier. By 1995, when Meier, Jr. assumed the presidency, the company posted sales of $11 million. In 2008, sales had grown to $25 million and “… the company’s 2012 revenues were over $50 million … We project 8.5 percent growth in 2013 … The company currently employ 156 … [of whom] 71 are in Central New York … The new headquarters and distribution center, which was formerly the Dick’s Sporting Goods distribution center, has 90,000 square feet with 30-foot high ceilings and our 16 branches [each] average 10,000 square feet … [Because of our growth], we now stock over 15,000 items … The company’s goal is to own all of the real estate, although we typically start new branches by entering into a short-term lease before deciding to buy,” Meier explains.
Despite two floods in five years, Meier Supply’s sales grow unabated, “… except for a blip after the first flood”, says the company CEO. “From my start at the company until the early 90s, our growth was largely due to acquisitions. Since then, the growth has been organic as we look for opportunities … which usually come through our networking with vendors and customers …Right now, we’re stretched about four hours [in each direction] from our distribution center … Further growth will require adding another distribution center, which is a major move … The fastest part of our business growth today is HVAC, which has grown from zero to 40 percent of our business in [just] 20 years.”
Frank A. Meier, Jr., 58, is not the only Meier working at the company. His brother Michael, 53, who is the vice president and chief operating officer, and his first cousin Dale Norton, 48, who is the corporate secretary/treasurer and vice-president of sales, also represent the third family generation to run the business. “My two sons, Frank and Anthony, and my brother’s daughters, Nicole and Trisha also work at Meier [Supply], representing the fourth generation,” says Frank A. Meier, Jr.
Meier attributes the company’s successful growth to a number of factors, including the conversion of family stock to an employee-stock-option plan (ESOP) in 1992. “At that time, some family members were looking to divest their shares in the business,” he says. “The company purchased their shares and divided them among the employees … For us it worked out great; there was only one year the company stock didn’t appreciate,” he says of the ESOP conversion. “Today, the employees own 65 percent of the company with the Meier and Norton families owning the balance. Our goal is to reach 100 percent [employee ownership] … The ESOP really helps us to attract talent at the company, and it’s a great retention tool,” declares Meier.
“A big part of our success is the training we provide our customers,” he adds. Meier Supply opened a Mitsubishi-approved Training Center (MATC) in late 2010, one of only six in the country to introduce and explain new and greener products to the industry. MATC is part of Meier University, set up in 2008 to provide ongoing training to the HVAC industry. In the first four months of 2013, Meier University has scheduled seminars in Syracuse; Williamsport, Pa.; Binghamton; Allentown, Pa.; Albany, Rochester, and Conklin, according to the company Web site. “We have a full-time, technical trainer … He travels regularly and works with our customers,” says Meier.
Meier Supply is not only focused on customer training but also on employee training. “We formed the Meier Core Development Group, comprised of 16 highly talented, aggressive, and motivated people across our company. We meet two or three times a year for special training sessions at which we focus on personal development, communication [skills], negotiating, marketing, and sales,” avers Meier.
While focused on the financial success of the company that bears his family name, Frank A. Meier, Jr. is also focused on the question of succession. “We are working with [Paul] Fusco, who heads up the ESOP practice at [the law firm] Boylan Code, LLP located in Rochester, on the question of an ESOP succession … Transitioning from the third to fourth generation with an ESOP is complicated,” says Meier.
Meier has been active in national industry organizations and is a member of the Key Wholesale Group. “This group is made up of 23 of the best, independent distributors in the country … [We] work … together to provide a united front [to compete] against national accounts … [because] we buy our products in bulk … None of the members competes, since we serve different franchised areas,” says Meier.
Meier Supply works with M&T Bank for its banking needs, Coughlin & Gerhart, LLP. for legal advice, and Johnson, Lauder & Savidge, LLP for accounting services.
Contact Poltenson at npoltenson@tgbbj.com
Marchuska Brothers: hands-on builders
ENDICOTT — Bernard J. (Bernie) Marchuska graduated from Marywood University in Scranton in 1993 with a degree in biology and was admitted to the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. Marchuska chose building medical offices rather than practicing medicine, while retaining the holistic, osteopathic view of a hands-on approach in dealing with patients
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ENDICOTT — Bernard J. (Bernie) Marchuska graduated from Marywood University in Scranton in 1993 with a degree in biology and was admitted to the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. Marchuska chose building medical offices rather than practicing medicine, while retaining the holistic, osteopathic view of a hands-on approach in dealing with patients (in this case, clients). So, he opened a construction business after graduation.
Marchuska, a member (president) of Marchuska Brothers Construction (MBC), LLC, builds more than medical offices. He and his brother Justin also include commercial offices, airport renovations, educational facilities, retail plazas, and residences in their portfolio. The company is located in a 5,000-square-foot headquarters building at 436 Airport Road in Endicott.
MBC and its subsidiaries — Marchuska Glass, LLC and Marchuska Productions, LLC, a real-estate development company — employ 20, including the owners.
“The companies generated $5 million in 2012, and we anticipate the same volume in 2013,” says Bernie Marchuska. “Twenty- five percent of our work is residential and the remaining 75 percent is commercial, which includes our government projects … MBC buys only 17 percent of the Marchuska Glass production while outside customers buy the [remainder] … The glass business is growing 15 to 20 percent annually, with demand for store-front glass, insulated-glass units, custom shower doors, glass enclosures, and, of course, glass repair.”
In addition to its construction and glass business, MBC also consults on land development and building projects, produces custom cabinetry and millwork, specializes in flood damage, and contracts with national corporations to maintain their premises. “For the past 15 years, we have repaired local restaurant chains like Ruby Tuesday and T.G.I. Friday’s, as well as large retailers like Barnes & Noble, Wegmans, and Pizzeria Uno … MBC has three people on staff dedicated to respond … They can fix any problem,” says Bernie Marchuska.
MBC markets to an area 100 miles west, north, and east of its headquarters. To date, Marchuska has not focused on work in Pennsylvania. “We’re very aggressive in our marketing … not through advertising but in our pricing and scheduling … Our work comes through word-of-mouth, with 80 percent repeat business,” says Marchuska.
Bernie Marchuska brings a number of specialty skills as well as long experience in the construction business.
“My father was an industrial-arts teacher. Every summer, I helped him rehab apartments. I was cheap labor … I’m also a registered locksmith, a specialist in making 18th-century Philadelphia furniture, and knowledgeable in plumbing, electrical [work], carpentry, roofing-and-siding, and flooring,” he avers.
The Marchuska team
Bernie and his brother Justin are equal partners in all the companies’ ventures. Justin’s background is in construction management for both commercial and residential projects. He holds a degree in building-construction technology.
Melody Harford and Alton (Tony) T. Butkewich round out the MBC management team. Harford is the office manager who holds a degree in financial services from Broome Community College and had 19 years of banking and management with the former Binghamton Savings Bank. Butkewich holds degrees in industrial and mechanical engineering from SUNY and from Pennsylvania State University. He performs both estimating and project-support functions.
Commenting on key company vendors, Bernie Marchuska says “… we work closely with a number of banks, but in particular with Peoples Neighborhood Bank (headquartered in Hallstead, Penn.) … MBC also relies on Hinman, Howard & Kattel, LLP. and Coughlin & Gerhart, LLP. [Binghamton law firms] for support in our real-estate contracts, corporate work, and bonding … And we rely on Dannible & McKee, LLP (Syracuse) for our accounting.”
Marchuska’s only regret is that he spends too much time “… handling paperwork when I would rather be building something and meeting with clients.” The hands-on approach that Marchuska brought to the business when he incorporated 20 years ago is still the driving force behind the company’s success.
Contact Poltenson at npoltenson@tgbbj.com
Welch Allyn device harnesses iPhone camera for eye exams
SKANEATELES FALLS — At first glance, Welch Allyn’s new iExaminer may seem squarely aimed at remote markets. The product allows users to snap high-resolution images of the eye using an iPhone and an accompanying app. A hardware adapter attaches the phone to Welch Allyn’s PanOptic Ophthalmoscope. Users can store the images, print them, or email
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SKANEATELES FALLS — At first glance, Welch Allyn’s new iExaminer may seem squarely aimed at remote markets.
The product allows users to snap high-resolution images of the eye using an iPhone and an accompanying app. A hardware adapter attaches the phone to Welch Allyn’s PanOptic Ophthalmoscope.
Users can store the images, print them, or email them to an expert thousands of miles away for consultation, which gives the product obvious uses in areas where eye-care professionals aren’t present. But the company sees broader potential for the iExaminer, which received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December, says Rick Farchione, senior manager for physical assessment at Welch Allyn.
Viewing the back of the eye with an ophthalmoscope is one of the more challenging tasks physicians perform, Farchione explains. Often, they’re able to get only a fleeting glimpse.
The iExaminer can use the iPhone’s camera to take anywhere from 15 to 75 pictures in just five seconds. There is bound to be at least a couple of good, useful images in the batch, Farchione says.
“Rather than a fleeting image, it’s frozen on the phone and they can take more time to analyze it,” he says.
Welch Allyn, based in Skaneateles Falls, is a medical-device manufacturer and employs more than 2,600 people.
The iExaminer app also allows physicians to store multiple images from the same patient in a single file so photos can be compared from visit to visit.
Welch Allyn also sees potential for the product among medical students. Most second- or third-year students purchase a set of basic diagnostic tools, including an ophthalmoscope.
Early efforts to promote the iExaminer among students have been promising, Farchione says. Many of them, he notes, already have iPhones.
“Here is a tool to help them in mastering a difficult skill,” he says. “We definitely see a wide swath of target markets for this.”
The Welch Allyn PanOptic Ophthalmoscope itself was a major advance in the field when it rolled out in 2003, Farchione says. It allowed physicians the necessary field of view they need to capture a useful look at the back of the eye.
The iExaminer is compatible with the iPhone 4 and 4S. The accompanying app is available for $29.99.
Farchione met the inventor of the iExaminer, Dr. Wyche Coleman, at a conference. Coleman had developed the device and attached it to the PanOptic Ophthalmoscope.
Farchione says he was intrigued. Welch Allyn ultimately wound up licensing the technology from Coleman, refining the design further, and commercializing it.
The company had been developing prototypes for something similar on its own, but working with Coleman got the product to market much faster, Farchione says.
Coleman could not be reached for comment.
“This is the first affordable device to give almost anyone, anywhere the ability to capture a picture of the back of the eye,” he said in a news release. “I was able to take this very lightweight, portable, inexpensive iExaminer to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in sub-Saharan Africa and take a picture of a patient’s fundus. From the top of the mountain, I then transmitted it to a doctor at Johns Hopkins University in the United States where he was able to analyze the image.”
Work on the iExaminer could pave the way for further development of applications that combine Welch Allyn technology with mobile devices, Farchione adds.
“It’s certainly a learning experience and there could be opportunities to capitalize on the space in other ways,” he says.
Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com
Oberdorfer Aluminum Foundry shuttering after nearly 140 years
DeWITT — Business conditions cooled at Oberdorfer Aluminum Foundry, LLC until the company decided it had to cease its flow of molten metal forever. The DeWitt aluminum-casting manufacturer will close its plant at 6259 Thompson Road, it said in a Feb. 7 filing with the state Department of Labor. Oberdorfer set its closing for May
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DeWITT — Business conditions cooled at Oberdorfer Aluminum Foundry, LLC until the company decided it had to cease its flow of molten metal forever.
The DeWitt aluminum-casting manufacturer will close its plant at 6259 Thompson Road, it said in a Feb. 7 filing with the state Department of Labor. Oberdorfer set its closing for May 3 — a closing that will leave 86 employees without jobs.
It will also end production at a foundry dating back to 1875. Oberdorfer began as a bronze foundry before starting aluminum-casting production early in the 20th century, according to its website. Today it uses no-bake, dry-sand, semi-permanent mold, and permanent mold casting.
Oberdorfer makes products for the aviation, aerospace, aluminum pump, high-performance engine, recreational, and refrigeration industries. And it performs military manufacturing.
That range of industries served wasn’t enough to keep the manufacturer afloat. Company CFO Evan Beach released a statement about the pending closure.
“This has been an extremely difficult decision, but the economic conditions of the company have left us with no other choice but to cease operations and close the business,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, business volume combined with increasing costs leave us unable to sustain the business.”
Beach referred all other requests for comment to the company’s attorney, Robert Bourke. Bourke is based in Simsbury, Conn.
“This is symptomatic of the region and the industry and the times, unfortunately,” Bourke says. “All of your costs go up, and competition is brutal, and it’s an old facility.”
That facility is made up of a series of buildings totaling almost 230,000 square feet, according to records from the Onondaga County Office of Real Property Tax Services. The oldest and largest building was constructed in 1920, with subsequent structures going up in 1940 and 1960, the records show.
Oberdorfer owns the property but has not decided its fate once the plant closes, Bourke says. Its 2012 market value was assessed at $2.07 million, according to the county’s tax records.
Rising costs the company faced include “a little of everything,” Bourke adds. They ranged from raw material costs to labor and health care. But Bourke did not blame the union representing plant workers, the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), for the closure.
“The union has been very good in working with us to try to deal with labor issues,” Bourke says. “We’ve talked with the state and they’ve tried to work with us. It’s more a function of the other uncontrolled costs.”
Employees at the foundry are members of Local 1826. The closure will affect 77 UAW members who average 22 years on the job, according to a statement released by the UAW.
“It is a shame that the company is closing,” Scott Adams, UAW regional director, said in the statement. “Our members and generations of Central New Yorkers have put their hearts and souls into making a quality product for the Oberdorfer foundry since they began in 1875. The [UAW] is extremely disappointed with this news.”
The release also detailed agreements Local 1826 members made to try to keep the plant open. They surrendered a defined pension plan and took a 65-percent decrease in their defined-contribution pension plan, it said. They also ratified a 2-year deal in December overhauling their health-care program in an attempt to hold back cost increases. And wages for Oberdorfer union employees have been frozen for six years, the UAW said.
Although 86 total positions will be eliminated with the company shutdown, not all of those employees are currently on the job. Oberdorfer’s attorney, Bourke, says about 50 are actively working — the remaining employees were laid off and waiting to be called back to the factory floor.
The foundry’s employee count has hovered around 75 for the past several years, according to Bourke. In 2011, a layoff cut the number of union members working there to 32, the UAW said.
“That number has been up and down, down and back up again,” Bourke says. “Years and years ago, they were over 200 back in their heyday. But it’s been a steady decline, which is not unusual unfortunately in that industry.”
Company representatives will be negotiating with the UAW regarding severance packages, Bourke adds. They have yet to hold meetings or work out any details, though.
The DeWitt foundry is a subsidiary of Advanced Metals Group, LLC. That group operates three other foundries: Ross Aluminum Castings, LLC, an aluminum foundry in Sidney, Ohio; US Aluminum Castings, LLC, an aluminum foundry in Entiat, Wash.; and Mabry Iron Castings, LLC, an iron foundry in Beaumont, Texas.
None of the other three Advanced Metals Group companies are closing, Bourke indicates. Advanced Metals Group did not respond to requests for comment by The Central New York Business Journal press deadline.
The UAW pointed out that Oberdorfer Pumps of 5900 Firestone Drive in DeWitt is a separate company from the foundry and is not a part of Advanced Metals Group.
Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com
Strides of CNY jogs business with new location
SYRACUSE — Strides of CNY, LLC stepped into a new location in the city of Syracuse at the end of January. The strength and conditioning firm moved into 4,800 square feet of space at 738 Spencer St. It gained more space in its relocation — and it proceeded into a more central location. “We’ve got
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SYRACUSE — Strides of CNY, LLC stepped into a new location in the city of Syracuse at the end of January.
The strength and conditioning firm moved into 4,800 square feet of space at 738 Spencer St. It gained more space in its relocation — and it proceeded into a more central location.
“We’ve got all these local businesses in the area,” says Michael Derecola, owner of Strides and its head strength and conditioning specialist. “We have Syracuse University, we have Le Moyne College. We have soccer centers that are closer, the Syracuse Soccer Academy right up the road, and the mall’s nearby. There’s a lot of traffic in this area.”
Before moving, Strides was at the CNY Family Sports Centre at 7201 Jones Road in Van Buren. It leased about 4,000 square feet of space there.
Its new space has a lounge with a refrigerator, microwave, and blender for athletes. It also offers a different feel, according to Derecola.
“I think what we wanted to do was provide a more private environment with more space to do what we wanted and to cater to a population that’s interested in what we do,” he says.
What Strides caters to is a wide range of athletes, athletic hopefuls, and fitness buffs. The firm’s clients range from elementary-school students — children ages 8, 9, and 10 — through college athletes, professional athletes, and older adults in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s.
Professional athletes who train at Strides include those in soccer, ice hockey, and mixed martial arts, according to Derecola, who is a former head athletic trainer for the Syracuse Crunch. Those who aren’t students or athletes may be training for triathlons or marathons, or they might just want to lose weight or get in shape for weekend golf outings, he says.
Services Strides offers include sports-performance training, adult functional training, boot camps, cardio kickboxing, boxing lessons, and self-defense classes. Derecola is also looking into other fitness classes like Yoga, Zumba, and salsa dancing. And the business includes conditioning, strength, and nutrition programs.
“A lot of the big-box gyms basically want your money,” Derecola says. “They don’t want you to come back. We want you to come back and get results. You’re getting guidance, you’re getting direction, and you’re paying for a service rather than just space or equipment.”
Strides renovated its space at 738 Spencer St., updating its bathrooms, adding new carpet, and applying coats of paint where necessary. The address had been a warehouse, so it needed some work, Derecola says.
The company performed the updates itself. It employs one person besides Derecola, and it also has two interns.
Two employees has been standard staffing for Strides over the years, according to Derecola, who founded the company in 2003. But he may take on more interns in the future, because exercise-science degrees seem to be becoming more popular at colleges, he says.
Moving into Syracuse could help Strides boost its revenue by as much as 20 percent to 30 percent in 2013, he adds before declining to share specific revenue totals. Marketing strategies include word-of-mouth and coupons sold by the online service LivingSocial.
About 75 to 100 people currently visit Strides’ location in any given week. Derecola also trains teams at Le Moyne College and the State University of New York (SUNY) at Oswego. He estimates he trains about 100 individuals at Le Moyne and around 30 at SUNY Oswego.
Rawanco LLC of Lysander owns the property Strides is leasing. Allegiance Realty, LLC of Syracuse brokered the lease.
Sports-performance training and adult training at Strides cost between $75 and $780 a month, depending on the type and frequency of training, according to the company’s website. Personal training ranges from $60 for a single one-hour session to $840 for 24 sessions that each last one hour.
“We started with athletes, and started with hockey players,” Derecola says. “Then it progressed into what we’ve got going on now, which is getting bigger and bigger each year.”
Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com
Leaders at Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB) see room for growth in the year ahead in the banking company’s new Central New York footprint. Berkshire Hills, parent of Berkshire Bank, first entered the Central New York market in 2011 with its acquisition of Rome Savings Bank. The company then closed a $132 million acquisition of DeWitt–based
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Leaders at Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB) see room for growth in the year ahead in the banking company’s new Central New York footprint.
Berkshire Hills, parent of Berkshire Bank, first entered the Central New York market in 2011 with its acquisition of Rome Savings Bank. The company then closed a $132 million acquisition of DeWitt–based Beacon Federal Bancorp (NASDAQ: BFED) in October.
The moves give Berkshire access to a market with a total population of about 700,000, Berkshire Chairman and CEO Michael Daly said during a Jan. 29 conference call on the bank’s latest quarterly results.
Beacon Federal had about $1 billion in assets and seven branches in DeWitt, East Syracuse, Marcy, and Rome, as well as Smartt, Tenn., Smyrna, Tenn., and Chelmsford, Mass. The Rome and Syracuse markets together now form Berkshire’s Central New York region.
Berkshire previously announced it would divest Beacon Federal’s Tennessee branches.
Daly said Berkshire recently added a new commercial leader for the Syracuse market, which he added was an important part of the bank’s strategy. The Beacon deal also helped Berkshire build its presence in eastern Massachusetts with the addition of the Chelmsford location, he said.
Berkshire is expecting cost savings related to the Beacon Federal deal of 30 percent, Berkshire Executive Vice President and CFO Kevin Riley said during the call. The bank will reach that goal after Beacon Federal completes a conversion of its banking system in March, he added.
Berkshire Hills cut 11 jobs following the Beacon Federal deal. Beacon Federal had about 130 employees before the acquisition.
For the fourth quarter, Berkshire Hills earned $9.3 million in the fourth quarter, up from $8.5 million a year earlier. Earnings per share for the period totaled 38 cents, down from 40 cents in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Excluding the effects of acquisition and system conversion costs, Berkshire earned $13.2 million, or 54 cents a share.
For the full year, Berkshire earned $33.2 million, or $1.49 per share, up from $17.3 million, or 97 cents a share, in 2011. Excluding acquisition and system conversion costs, the company earned $44.2 million, or $1.98 per share, in 2012.
“We’re pretty focused on the challenges and opportunities in front of us in the new year,” Daly said. “And I think the industry challenges are pretty widely agreed on: margin pressure due to low rates and business volume uncertainties due to an uneven economy.
“But by positioning ourselves strategically and reacting flexibly, we believe that we’re prepared to deal with those challenges”
Berkshire has assets of $5.3 billion and 75 branches in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, and Vermont.
Deposits at the end of the year totaled $4.1 billion, up from $3.1 billion at the end of 2011. Loans totaled $3.4 billion, up from about $3 billion.
Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com
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