New York starts market-acceleration program focused on energy efficiency

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New York has launched a $30 million program that aims to bring energy-efficiency technologies to market quickly. The state calls the initiative the Energy Efficiency Market Acceleration Program. It will seek to accelerate energy-efficiency technologies’ development, attract technology businesses to New York, create market channels for companies, build business-development opportunities, and train professionals like engineers, […]

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Construction kicks off on $15M Upstate Cord Blood Bank

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Health Care, Subscriber Only

ONONDAGA — The State University of New York Upstate Medical University is preparing to deal in blood — umbilical-cord blood. Upstate broke ground Sept. 17 on a $15 million construction project that will build a public umbilical-cord blood bank at its Community Campus in the town of Onondaga. The facility will be known as the

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ONONDAGA — The State University of New York Upstate Medical University is preparing to deal in blood — umbilical-cord blood.

Upstate broke ground Sept. 17 on a $15 million construction project that will build a public umbilical-cord blood bank at its Community Campus in the town of Onondaga. The facility will be known as the Upstate Cord Blood Bank.

It will join the National Cord Blood Program in Long Island City to become one of only two public cord-blood banks in the state. The facility will be one of just 27 such banks in the nation, according to Upstate Medical University.

The cord-blood bank is set for space at 4900 Broad Road in the town of Onondaga — the former Community General Hospital site, which is now known as Upstate University Hospital’s Community Campus. Upstate hopes to have the blood bank open by the third quarter of 2014.

Umbilical-cord blood contains hematopoietic stem cells that can be used to treat certain cancers, metabolic disorders, and immunodeficiency diseases like sickle-cell anemia. It can be drawn from an umbilical cord and placenta after a baby has been delivered and the cord cut and clamped. The blood can then be preserved at extremely low temperatures for later use.

Medical institutions typically discard the blood as waste, according to Upstate Medical University President Dr. David Smith, who spoke at the blood bank’s groundbreaking ceremony. That won’t be the case if a family donates umbilical-cord blood to the medical university’s blood bank, he said.

“Nothing is wasted,” Smith said. “We’re going to be able to save that, utilize that. Not only for patients, but when it’s not being used for patients, we can use it for research.”

Not all umbilical-cord blood is suitable for treating patients, according to Thomas Quinn, Upstate’s senior vice president for health system development. The Upstate Cord Blood Bank will designate blood that is not qualified for patient use for research, he says.

The center will try to draw blood from hospitals across upstate New York, but it will be able to send it to compatible patients at transplant centers throughout the world. It will list its umbilical-cord blood units on the Be The Match registry operated by the Minneapolis–based National Marrow Donor Program.

Upstate Medical University hopes its umbilical-cord blood bank will eventually take donations from 10,000 births a year. It does not yet know exactly how many units of blood it will store at the facility at one time, Quinn says.

Construction

The blood bank will span two stories and contain between 10,000 square feet and 15,000 square feet of space, depending on its final design, he continues. Francis Cauffman of New York City is the project’s architect. Rochester–based The Pike Co. will be its construction manager, and Kansas City, Mo.–based CRB is filling the role of engineer. About 150 construction workers will help build the facility.

Surveying and other work to prepare the site will run through the end of this year. Construction is slated to start around the beginning of next year.

Upstate Medical University plans to hire 10 new employees to staff the facility when it opens, Quinn says. It could later grow to 15 or 20 employees, he adds.

The project has been in planning stages for about six years, according to Quinn. Funding comes from grant money built into the New York State Budget and SUNY funding, he says.

The building’s $15 million price tag includes design fees and the cost of equipment it will hold.

Upstate Medical University must work with hospital leaders and obstetrics and gynecology physicians to start donation programs, Quinn says. It has to reach out to mothers so they will agree to donate umbilical-cord blood, he adds.

“I think right now the most important thing to do is to get the word out to families that this is coming,” Quinn says. “A lot of people know about private cord banking, which does not have the same utility as public cord banking.”

As a public umbilical-cord blood bank, the center will not charge fees for donating cord blood. That’s a different model than private umbilical-cord blood banks, which are for-profit organizations charging fees for storing cord blood. Private banks also reserve blood for use of the family making the donation, according to Upstate Medical University.

“There’s odds of 1 in 2,600 that one’s own cord blood will be used in one’s child,” Quinn says. “It’s much greater that it can be used for the public good.”

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com

New hotel headed to Rome

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Regional News, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism

ROME — A new hotel is coming to Griffiss Business and Technology Park. Rome Hospitality Group, LLC will purchase a 4.25-acre parcel on the corner

Empower begins work on new headquarters in Salina

Banks & Credit Unions, Construction, Design & Real Estate, Subscriber Only

SALINA — Empower Federal Credit Union began work last month on a new headquarters that will bring together staff members now spread across three offices. The new headquarters, which will be located the former B.G. Sulzle plant in Salina, will house departments like information technology, the credit union’s call center, and loan operations, says Rich Nave,

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SALINA — Empower Federal Credit Union began work last month on a new headquarters that will bring together staff members now spread across three offices.

The new headquarters, which will be located the former B.G. Sulzle plant in Salina, will house departments like information technology, the credit union’s call center, and loan operations, says Rich Nave, senior vice president for administration at Empower. The site will house about 200 people total once complete.

The 72,000-square-foot space will also leave room for future growth, Nave adds. The credit union could eventually have up to 300 people working at the headquarters.

“Right now, we’re out of space,” Nave says. “This is a long term solution for us.”

The project will also allow Empower employees to work together more effectively. Staff members from the same departments are sometimes now located in different offices, Nave says.

Empower houses some of the staff that will move to the headquarters in one of its branch buildings at 515 Erie Blvd. West in Syracuse and at an office just across the parking lot from there. The credit union also leases space at the Learbury Centre building on North Salina Street.

The lease on the Learbury space is up next year, Nave says, and the newly free space at the Erie Boulevard location will allow for needed expansion at that branch. He says Empower leaders expect to develop a long-term plan for the Erie Boulevard office next year.

“We need to start thinking about expanding that branch,” Nave says.

The former B.G. Sulzle building is being completely gutted. The new space will feature an open floor plan to encourage collaboration, Nave says. Construction crews are working on demolition now and the project should wrap up in March or April.

Empower staff members will then move in next spring and summer.

Syracuse–based Hayner Hoyt Corp. is the construction manager on the project and Syracuse–based QPK Design is the architect.

Empower formed in 2007 from the merger of Empire Federal Credit Union and Power Federal Credit Union. At the time, both credit unions had about $300 million in assets, according to Empower.

Assets at Empower totaled more than $1.1 billion as of the end of June 2012, up from just more than $1 billion a year earlier. The credit union has more than 110,000 members. Empower reached 100,000 members for the first time in 2011.

Empower had total loans of more than $777.5 million at the end of June, up from $713.3 million a year earlier, and total deposits of more than $1 billion, up from $916 million a year earlier.

Net income through the first half of 2012 totaled $5.8 million at the credit union, up from about $4 million through the first six months of 2011.

Contact Tampone at

ktampone@cnybj.com

Conditions continue crumbling for New York manufacturers

Manufacturing & Engineering, Subscriber Only

New York’s manufacturers couldn’t put together much positive news about September, according to a monthly survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The New York Fed’s Empire State Manufacturing Survey released Sept. 17 showed business conditions deteriorating, as its general business conditions index languished below zero for a second consecutive month. A

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New York’s manufacturers couldn’t put together much positive news about September, according to a monthly survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The New York Fed’s Empire State Manufacturing Survey released Sept. 17 showed business conditions deteriorating, as its general business conditions index languished below zero for a second consecutive month. A majority of the survey’s indicators measuring current conditions declined in September.

The general business conditions index fell 4.6 points to -10.4. That means more manufacturers reported worsening conditions than said the business climate was improving.

It was the lowest reading for the index since November 2010 and missed economists’ expectations. MarketWatch reported that economists it surveyed expected a reading of 0.0, while Briefing.com forecast -3.0.

In September, 28.8 percent of manufacturers indicated business conditions worsened, while just 18.4 percent said they improved. The remaining 52.8 percent of survey respondents thought conditions remained the same as they were last month.

“The headline index has been negative for the past several months, and it’s been trending downward for the past several months,” says Richard Deitz, assistant vice president, regional analysis function at the New York Fed.

The general business conditions index hit a 2012 high point of 20.2 in March. It vacillated between losses and gains over the next few months before beginning its current three-month slide in July.

New York manufacturers reporting getting fewer new orders, as indicated by the survey’s new-orders index slipping 8.5 points to -14. Unfilled orders followed suit, eroding by 4.3 points. The unfilled-orders index notched -14.9 in September.

Shipments also slid, although the shipments index managed to stay above zero. It slipped 1.3 points to 2.8.

In contrast, delivery times increased in September, according to the delivery-time index. It jumped 9.2 points to reach positive
territory at 2.1.

Manufacturers said they paid higher prices and received higher prices for their goods in September. The prices-paid index crept up 2.7 points to 19.2. The prices-received index edged nearly 3 points higher to 5.3.

Hiring took a hit, along with the number of hours manufacturers asked employees to work. The number-of-employees index plunged 12.2 points to 4.3 in September, while the average employee-workweek index skidded 4.6 points to fall below zero at -1.1.

Positive future expectations

Manufacturers didn’t predict as much gloom in the future. Nearly all of the survey’s forward-looking indicators, which measure expectations for a time six months from now, moved up.

The future general business conditions index swelled by 12 points to 27. Over two-fifths of survey respondents, 41.4 percent, predicted better business conditions in six months, and 44.4 percent thought conditions will remain the same. The final 14.2 percent of respondents expect general conditions to worsen.

“The level of optimism has been generally declining throughout almost all of 2012,” Deitz says. “So to some extent, the increase in the future general business conditions index does show that the level of optimism did improve somewhat. But that level is still well below where it was earlier in the year.”

The future general business conditions index topped out at 54.9 this year. It reached that point in January and has been falling since then. September marked the first time manufacturers drove the future index up between two months in 2012.

“It’s very likely they’re factoring in some of the information they already have, information about what their orders might be going forward,” Deitz says.

New orders and shipments will be on the upswing, manufacturers anticipated. The future new-orders index ballooned 14.7 points to 17, and the future shipments index rose 4.5 points to 12.8.

Unfilled orders, on the other hand, are set to wane, according to manufacturers. The future unfilled-orders index dipped 4.3 points to -14.9.

Manufacturers continued to predict lower delivery times and inventories. But they tempered their projections, pushing up the future delivery-time index by 3.1 points to -7.5 and increasing the future inventories index by almost 5.2 points to -4.3.

The future prices-paid index inflated by 8.7 points to 40.4. It was joined by the future prices-received index, which ascended 9.3 points to 23.4.

Payrolls will swell, according to the survey. Manufacturers pushed the future number-of-employees index up by nearly 5 points to 8.5. They drove the future average employee-workweek index out of negative territory with a 10.4-point rise to 2.1.

Manufacturers didn’t predict much change in the level of capital expenditures. The future capital-expenditures index edged down 0.2 points to 12.8. The future technology-spending index inched up 1.6 points to 7.5.

The New York Fed polls a set pool of about 200 manufacturing executives in the state for its monthly survey, and about 100 executives typically respond. The Fed seasonally adjusts data.

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com

New business competition, Startup Labs Syracuse, to award $350K

Small Business, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — Startup Labs Syracuse, a new business competition unveiled Sept. 18, will award $350,000 in cash and prizes to five teams. Syracuse is the first U.S. city to host the Startup Labs program. “Startup Labs is thrilled to bring our well tested program to CenterState New York. We are looking forward to working with

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SYRACUSE — Startup Labs Syracuse, a new business competition unveiled Sept. 18, will award $350,000 in cash and prizes to five teams.

Syracuse is the first U.S. city to host the Startup Labs program.

“Startup Labs is thrilled to bring our well tested program to CenterState New York. We are looking forward to working with the region’s incredible entrepreneurial talent,” Clint Nelson, Startup Labs founder, said in a news release. “The investment partners for this program are dedicated to helping these teams succeed. The region’s entrepreneurs will see how this program facilitates their growth and accelerates their potential.”

Organizers will choose five teams for the program through an application process and two rounds of judging.

Those groups will then move on to participate in a five-day boot camp that introduces them to the program and mentors. A 22-day program of work with mentors and advisers to advance their business plans follows.

Each of the five teams will receive $30,000 in seed funding and office space at The Tech Garden in downtown Syracuse for six months.

The teams will then pitch on a demo-day competition. The groups will compete for a cash prize of $150,000 and $50,000 in marketing and branding services from the ad agency Eric Mower and Associates.

The winner of the competition will be announced at the CenterState CEO annual meeting in April 2013.

In addition, when one of the five final companies receives a future investment, Startup Labs will lead the investment by providing 20 percent of the capital raise, according to CenterState CEO. Companies who complete the program will also become part of Startup Labs’ network, connecting them with other companies, investors, and mentors from its international programs.

Startup Labs is partnering with CenterState CEO and Excell Partners of Rochester to bring the program to the region. Each partner invests an initial $50,000 to start the program. An additional $200,000 of support is provided by the competition’s 10 private sponsors including lead sponsor, National Grid.

Other major sponsors include M&T Bank and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

“Attracting a national organization like Startup Labs to Syracuse speaks to the quality of entrepreneurial talent in this region,”
CenterState CEO President Robert Simpson said in a news release. “This region is rightly being recognized as an emerging market, ripe for venture-capital investment. We are proud that Syracuse is the first in the nation to host a Startup Labs program. It is a tremendous opportunity for our region’s emerging companies.”

Startup Labs grew from the Startup Weekend program, which brings together entrepreneurs weekend-long events around the world aimed at developing new business ideas. The Tech Garden has hosted the events in the past.

Startup Labs is based in Seattle and has run its program in Turkey, Taiwan, Mexico, Brazil, and India.

Startup Labs Syracuse replaces the Creative Core Emerging Business Competition, which began in 2007 and awarded a total of more than $1 million to area companies over the course of six competitions. That contest’s grand prize grew to $200,000.

Winners included MicroGen Systems, Sound Reading Solutions, Widetronix, e2e Materials, and Mezmeriz, all based in Ithaca. The winner of the 2011 competition, BrandYourself.com, is based in Syracuse.

More information and applications for Startup Labs Syracuse are available at syracuse.startuplabs.org. The application deadline is Nov. 16.

ZeroPoint powering advances in biomass-gasification plants

Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Subscriber Only

POTSDAM — A performance warranty has set ZeroPoint Clean Tech, Inc. charging toward the commercial market. The biomass-gasification technology company, headquartered at Clarkson University’s Peyton Hall Incubator in Potsdam, is working with a German firm to build turn-key biomass power plants. The plants are a big step because they will come with warranties guaranteeing the

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POTSDAM — A performance warranty has set ZeroPoint Clean Tech, Inc. charging toward the commercial market.

The biomass-gasification technology company, headquartered at Clarkson University’s Peyton Hall Incubator in Potsdam, is working with a German firm to build turn-key biomass power plants. The plants are a big step because they will come with warranties guaranteeing the amount of power they will produce, according to ZeroPoint CEO John Gaus.

“Our commercial joint effort represents the first biomass-gasification power plants offered into the marketplace with a performance warranty, which will make the plants infinitely more financeable,” he says.

Power plants are typically built with performance warranties by a prime contractor or engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) vendor, according to Gaus. But biomass-gasification plants have not carried those warranties because EPC vendors were not comfortable with the new technology’s ability to deliver the promised amount of energy. That in turn made it difficult to find financing for biomass-gasification projects.

For ZeroPoint, that’s changing as the firm works with Essen, Germany–based Envirotherm GmbH. Envirotherm is a subsidiary of Allied Resource Corp. of Wayne, Pa., with a focus on engineering.

The two companies are designing standardized turn-key power plants as small as 2 MW and as large as 14 MW that feature ZeroPoint’s technology, according to Gaus. Envirotherm will be the EPC vendor behind building the plants, he says.

“It’s all thermal-chemical conversion of biomass into gas,” Gaus says. “ZeroPoint is providing that enabling biomass-gasification technology.”

Eight of the standardized power plants are currently slated to be built — six in Europe and two in North America. Construction is set to begin on one of the plants before the end of the year, and work is likely to start on another four plants next year, according to Gaus. Confidentiality agreements prevent him from releasing more information on the projects, he says.

Biomass-gasification plants typically cost about $4 million per megawatt of installed capacity, Gaus says. That price can differ depending on variables such as the power plant’s site, though.

Two plants in Europe already operate using ZeroPoint’s technology, Gaus adds. They are located in Germany and Ireland and are approved to generate up to 5 MW. However, they were not built using standardized turn-key designs and do not carry performance warranties.

The existing and planned biomass-gasification generators utilizing ZeroPoint’s technology run on woody biomass. Woody biomass includes chipped wood, recovered waste wood, and virgin wood, according to Gaus. Interest in biomass gasification is strongest in Europe but will likely grow in the rest of the world, he says.

“Most of the biomass opportunity is in Europe right now, so a lot of our team is spending a good two weeks a month in Europe,” he says. “We’re looking at a vastly larger pipeline in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia.”

ZeroPoint employs eight people based at its U.S. headquarters, and Gaus expects the firm to hire three or four more people within six months. Its headquarters is about 500 square feet leased from Clarkson University that is largely used for payroll and administrative work — employees currently spend most of their time onsite at the company’s projects in Europe.

The biomass-gasification firm also has 15 employees based in a satellite office at Schwarze Pumpe Industry Park near Spremberg, Germany. That satellite office was added in an acquisition ZeroPoint completed six months ago, according to Gaus. He declined to share any other details about the transaction.

Gaus also declined to disclose revenue totals or projections for ZeroPoint. He founded the company six years ago as a research project at Clarkson University along with Philip Leveson, who has a doctorate focused on oxygen enrichment of combustion systems.

In addition to its woody-biomass technology, ZeroPoint is testing palm biomass and working on upgrading sewer sludge and digestate from anaerobic digesters for gasification.

The company contracts primarily with New York companies to produce components for its technology, according to Gaus.

“We’re doing business with New York state manufacturers and exporting,” he says.

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com

Headphones retailer, distributor leases space in DeWitt

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Subscriber Only

DeWITT — VoxLinc LLC a retailer and distributor of AfterShokz bone-conduction technology headphones, recently leased 1,495 square feet of flex space located at 6311 Fly Road in DeWitt. VoxLinc offers three models of ear-free headphones: AfterShokz Sport, AfterShokz Mobile, and AfterShokz Game. Unlike conventional headphones and earbuds, AfterShokz does not use the eardrums to transmit

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New York adds jobs in August, unemployment rate unchanged

Employee Benefits & Human Resources

New York added 8,100 jobs, including 3,300 in the private sector, in August, but the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.1 percent compared to July,

Elmira Savings Bank opens new branch office

Banks & Credit Unions, Regional News

ELMIRA HEIGHTS — Elmira Savings Bank (NASDAQ: ESBK) has opened its new branch location at 2075 Lake Road in Elmira Heights. “We are pleased to

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