ANDRO pushes the envelope on disruptive innovation

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ROME — ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC is making its mark on both the scientific world and the local Mohawk Valley economy. Between a new headquarters and new defense contracts, the Rome–based tech company is well on its way toward its goal of leading advancements in disruptive innovation. Disruptive may sound like a negative term, but […]

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ROME — ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC is making its mark on both the scientific world and the local Mohawk Valley economy.

Between a new headquarters and new defense contracts, the Rome–based tech company is well on its way toward its goal of leading advancements in disruptive innovation.

Disruptive may sound like a negative term, but when it comes to technology, it’s all about innovation and changing the way people and businesses do things. For ANDRO, that means stirring the pot and pushing the United States to be a technology leader.

“We’re trying to improve wireless communication,” ANDRO President/CEO Andrew Drozd says. The Department of Defense (DoD) needs it for soldiers — thus the many defense contracts ANDRO has received — but ultimately, most of the solutions developed for the DoD have commercial consumer applications as well.

“We’re are also experts at dynamic spectrum-sharing policy,” he notes. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (part of the Department of Commerce) oversee how the spectrum is used. That’s no small task when all forms of wireless communication from air traffic to weather satellites to our own personal cell phones must share the spectrum.

In the U.S., spectrum management still tends to be fixed while today’s technology has become increasingly fluid, Drozd says. “This restricts how we do things in the United States,” he says, adding that leads customers to reach out to ANDRO when they need to figure out how to make their technology work on the spectrum. “We’re the unicorns in this field.”

ANDRO has also carved out a niche in software-based waveform development, he says. Communication devices have a particular type of chip in them for digital-signal processing. Radio waveforms are the functions that convert input such as a person’s speech or typed data into transmitted energy, which is then converted back at the receiving device at the other end.

The chips that carry the waveforms are typically pre-programmed before being used in a device and updating them with new technology is a costly process that can take between one to three years, Drozd says. ANDRO has developed a process to “flash” those waveforms onto those chips, providing a way to develop, test, and evaluate waveform designs much more quickly.

“This is one of our growing markets,” Drozd says.

All that growth meant that ANDRO needed more laboratory space. While it had been located at the Beeches complex for many years, the company decided to move elsewhere in late 2022 when it moved to Griffiss Business & Technology Park at the Steven J. DiMeo Campus.

The company reduced its overall facility space — going from 22,000 to 8,000 square feet — and manages the downsizing with a work-from-home model.

“It works well because it’s modern,” Drozd says of the space. He hopes ANDRO will eventually build its own small-scale manufacturing and research facility as it works closer to its goal of commercializing some of the technologies it has developed.

“We’re trying to really develop more and more products we can sell,” he says. The company will also continue the government and defense work it excels at.

ANDRO employs about 50 people and has been growing steadily in recent years, adding groups of four to five employees at a time, with each new defense contract it has landed.

Those contracts include a $2 million Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract to develop a 5G testbed environment and a $1.3 million U.S. Navy contract Phase II Small Business Innovation Research contract to develop a new type of autonomous radio frequency signal intelligence capability.

Drozd was also recently reappointed to the FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council IX for another two years.

“I’m the only one from New York state,” he says of members of the council, which consults and weighs in on topics related to the development of FCC policies. “I’m very proud to be part of that.”

Founded in 1994, ANDRO serves defense and commercial customers in software radios, spectrum access, cybersecurity, machine learning, and more.

Planning proceeds for Triangle site development at Griffiss

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only

ROME — The future development of the 332-acre Triangle site at Griffiss International Airport in Rome is progressing in the planning stages following the March 5 announcement of a $23.6 million state grant to help turn into a semiconductor supply-chain campus. “It has started in design and concept,” says Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr.,

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“It has started in design and concept,” says Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr., noting the planning for the development of the parcel had started well before the grant announcement.

It’s called the Triangle site because it has the “general outline” of a triangle, Picente notes in a July 10 phone interview with CNYBJ.

“While there’s nothing physically in the ground … the process has begun,” he adds.

Oneida County will chip in a local match of nearly $2.7 million.

Picente would like to see development get started in the first quarter of 2025 to start preparing the water, sewer, and electrical components so the site is on the fast track and by the end of 2026, perhaps into 2027, it is “shovel ready.”

When asked if Oneida County knows of any supply-chain firms that are interested in eventually coming to the site, he says, “We have had discussions, confidentially with some companies that we’re in contact with.”

With Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) securing the White Pine Commerce Park in the town of Clay in Onondaga County, Picente notes that the Triangle site is “now the largest site … in the state of New York for development.”

Oneida County received the largest amount among seven sites awarded funding under the Focused Attraction of Shovel-Ready Tracts New York (FAST NY) grant program, per the March 5 announcement. The money will allow for the county and its partners to complete infrastructure and transportation improvements to the Triangle site to support up to 3.9 million square feet of developable area.

The partners include Griffiss Local Development Corporation (GLDC), Mohawk Valley EDGE (MV EDGE), Salina–based C&S Companies, and the City of Rome.

Griffiss International Airport — PHOTO CREDIT: ZOEYADVERTISING.COM

The work will include electrical upgrades and extension, doubling capacity to provide up to 50 megawatts; water and sewer extension; force main and pump station; looping for increased pressure; transportation and access upgrades; roundabout construction; sound-barrier construction; lighting and pedestrian infrastructure; natural-gas extension from State Route 825; general site work; perimeter fencing; site grading and green infrastructure; and duct bank and utility corridors, per the March 5 announcement.

“Conveniently located in the center of New York State and positioned adjacent to Wolfspeed and Micron, Oneida County’s ‘Triangle Site’ at Griffiss is positioned to be the state’s premier semiconductor supply chain campus, offering up to 50 megawatts of power,” Picente said in the March 5 announcement. “This largest shovel-ready site in the state will unlock up to 2.6 million square feet of new construction and the potential for 3,000 new jobs.”

The announcement included Rome Mayor Jeffrey Lanigan thanking Gov. Kathy Hochul for the “significant investment that will propel our region’s semiconductor industry forward” and additionally expressing gratitude to Picente and the project partners.

“We also want to thank County Executive Anthony Picente, MV EDGE and GLDC for their visionary leadership in spearheading the development of a shovel-ready semiconductor supply chain site,” Lanigan said. “Their outstanding application showcased the strength of our community’s commitment to innovation and we look forward to collaborating on the development of this site, paving the way for further advancements in our local economy and technology sector. Together, we will continue to foster growth and prosperity for generations to come.”

All Seasonings has all the ingredients for growth

Manufacturing & Engineering, Mohawk Valley, Small Business, Subscriber Only

ONEIDA — All Seasonings Ingredients has been the Oneida area’s hidden secret, but that’s changing now that the food-production company is growing. Without a retail brand on the shelves, All Seasonings isn’t a household name, CEO Brendan Farnach says, but it is well known in the spice industry. His father, Joe, started the business in

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ONEIDA — All Seasonings Ingredients has been the Oneida area’s hidden secret, but that’s changing now that the food-production company is growing.

Without a retail brand on the shelves, All Seasonings isn’t a household name, CEO Brendan Farnach says, but it is well known in the spice industry.

His father, Joe, started the business in 1994 out of the kitchen of his Sylvan Beach restaurant, Cinderella’s Café. It was really a side project, Farnach says, where his father bought spices in bulk and packaged up the extras to sell to other restaurants who didn’t need to buy so much at once.

It wasn’t until about 2003 — after Farnach graduated from Syracuse University, where he studied finance, and joined the business — that the focus turned toward growing it into something more.

All Seasonings Ingredients imports spices from around the world and then bottles them — but it’s more than just putting some garlic powder in a bottle. The company can blend spices and customize the product on several levels including granulation size and potency.

It serves the food service, industrial, and retail industries and does private-label work for clients.

“We focus on customer service,” Farnach says. That means from the label to the spice itself, products are consistent and meet the customers’ needs. All Seasonings is one of just a few privately owned companies that both imports and bottles product ingredients, he says. Most companies do one or the other.

While it can be challenging, the effort allows All Seasonings to employ more people, have better control over its supply chain, and the most control over the finished product.

That focus has paid off. In 2004, the company had about five employees and imported about 100,000 pounds of spices.

By 2023, the business had grown to employing 106 workers and importing 30 million pounds of spices.

All Seasonings Ingredients has seen explosive growth over the past five years, including during the pandemic. Restaurants may have been closed for dining, but delivery options boomed — including pizza, Farnach notes. All Seasonings already had built a strong business in the pizza industry, and it grew even more during the pandemic.

Until now, the company didn’t really push the needle on further growth because it was already operating at full capacity, he says. The company has been based at 1043 Freedom Drive in Oneida for many years, where it has both office and warehouse space.

Now, it has expanded with a new 9,000-square-foot research and development facility that houses the company’s sales, customer service, purchasing, and marketing teams along with a state-of-the-art test kitchen.

The 2,500-square-foot kitchen allows All Seasonings Ingredients to continue to innovate for its customers as well as for itself as it looks to expand its product offerings, Farnach says. The company markets its Papa Joe’s salad dressing mixes to restaurants and hopes to add more products along those lines.

More facility expansion is also on the way as the company is building a 63,000-square-foot warehouse in nearby Sherrill to house raw materials, he adds.

All Seasonings worked with Mohawk Valley EDGE, the City of Oneida, and the Madison County Industrial Development agency on its expansion projects. The new R&D facility benefited from state Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding, while the company will receive a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement for the Sherrill warehouse.

“The new additions allow us to double our business,” Farnach says, adding he expects that growth over the next five years.

That means employment at the company is growing further. The new warehouse will add 10 new employees, and Farnach expects the firm will need between 30 and 40 new employees over the next five years. And that’s on top of adding automation and building efficiency along the way, he adds.

All Seasonings is primed and ready for growth but won’t lose track of what sets the business apart, Farnach says. It’s the customer service, the product itself, and its insider history in the restaurant industry that help the firm understand the needs of its customers.

Name change at Griffiss business park honors DiMeo

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only

ROME — Pick a spot in the Mohawk Valley, spin around, and point. Odds are good, you’ll be pointing at some project that Steven J. DiMeo had a hand in. A graduate of T.R. Proctor High School, DiMeo began his economic-development work in the Mohawk Valley in 1984 when he worked for the Department of

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ROME — Pick a spot in the Mohawk Valley, spin around, and point. Odds are good, you’ll be pointing at some project that Steven J. DiMeo had a hand in.

A graduate of T.R. Proctor High School, DiMeo began his economic-development work in the Mohawk Valley in 1984 when he worked for the Department of Urban and Economic Development in Utica. In 1986, he became its commissioner.

But it was the 1993 battle to save the former Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome and the subsequent redevelopment of the closed base into a thriving business and technology park that is perhaps his most publicly recognizable career accomplishment. The park is also home to the Mohawk Valley EDGE offices, where DiMeo served as president from its founding until his death on March 6, 2024.

“The day of his passing, I met with the staff that morning,” Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. says. Amid the sadness, talk quickly turned to ways to honor the memory of the man who led so many economic-development efforts across the region — from fighting to keep the Air Force Research Lab in Rome to bringing the semiconductor industry to the area with Wolfspeed.

They all agreed something must be done, but “it’s got to be the right thing,” Picente says.

Looking around the region, you could point a finger at dozens of projects, he says, “But it started at Griffiss.”

Once a bustling Air Force base, Griffiss was listed as one of the bases targeted under the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), a congressionally authorized process the Department of Defense uses to reorganizes its base structure to improve efficiency and operational readiness.

Despite all efforts waged by DiMeo and other area economic-development leaders, the 3,689-acre Griffiss Air Force Base closed in September 1995. The Griffiss Local Development Corporation (GLDC) became the entity responsible for figuring out how to reuse the base. DiMeo, as a representative on the board, worked together with GLDC to turn those acres into what is now the thriving Griffiss Business & Technology Park.

Shawna Papale, acting president of Mohawk Valley EDGE, recalls talking with GLDC Board Chair Elis DeLia and others when the topic of renaming the park in DiMeo’s honor came up. While people were “ready to change the signs the next day,” she says, things had to go through the proper process.

Picente agrees and a big part of that process was making sure DiMeo’s wife, Dianne, and their three children were on board.

“The whole family, we’re just honored,” Dianne DiMeo tells The Central New York Business Journal.

The park is now known as the Griffiss Business & Technology Park at the Steven J. DiMeo Campus in his honor.

Looking at the transformation of the base is amazing, she adds. “It was such a huge undertaking,” she says. “I think most people would look at that and say, ‘I don’t know how we’re going to reach that vision.’”

Steve DiMeo never gave up on that vision, and that’s why it’s so necessary to honor his work and his legacy, Papale says. “Anybody who comes to it or just comes through it is in awe,” she says of the bustling park, which is home to nearly 70 businesses employing thousands of people.

“Steve would tell us, ‘Don’t change the sign. You don’t need to do that,’” Papale says. But “he and his family deserve that honor.”

There will be a ceremony, set for Sept. 13, to unveil the new signage.

While the name changes, the work remains the same, Papale says, and MV EDGE continues to take the blueprint DiMeo left for them to continue the vision.

“Steve would want us to keep moving forward,” she says.

EDGE study examines Oneida County’s dairy industry

Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Mohawk Valley, Small Business, Subscriber Only

Protecting and growing the Mohawk Valley’s dairy industry is the focus of a study, administered by Mohawk Valley EDGE, that will look at where the industry stands today and what it needs to flourish “This started last year,” Tim Fitzgerald, VP of economic development at EDGE, noted. The topic was first raised by Oneida County

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Protecting and growing the Mohawk Valley’s dairy industry is the focus of a study, administered by Mohawk Valley EDGE, that will look at where the industry stands today and what it needs to flourish

“This started last year,” Tim Fitzgerald, VP of economic development at EDGE, noted. The topic was first raised by Oneida County Administrator Anthony J. Picente, Jr. in his 2023 State of the County address.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2022 Agriculture Census, the number of dairy farms in New York state fell by almost 1,900 from 2017. In that timeframe, Oneida County has gone from 159 farms to just 90.

“It’s important to ensure this valuable part of our economy is sustainable for the next generation and beyond,” Fitzgerald says. The study will help ensure it stays that way.

EDGE is administering the project, which was commissioned by the Oneida County Department of Planning. A request for proposals for a private consultant was issued in late 2023, and EDGE awarded the contract in July to New Venture Advisors, LLC, of Chicago.

Of the project’s three main goals, the first is to understand the current state of dairy farming in Oneida County including the number of farms, the number of cows, and even how much milk is produced.

The second goal is an in-depth evaluation of dairy processing in the county. “Right within Oneida County, you have processors like H.P. Hood,” Fitzgerald says.

Some farms, like Collins Farm and Creamery in Sauquoit, do their own on-site processing. EDGE was able to help Collins obtain processing equipment with a microenterprise grant.

“Some of those products could be made through value-added investments right on the farm,” Fitzgerald says.

There are also large-scale processors outside the county including Chobani to the south, Kraft to the north, Byrne Dairy to the west, and Fage to the east. The study will examine the role those large processors play now — and could play in the future — for the county’s dairy industry.

The third goal of the study is to identify sites that could be utilized for dairy processing including identifying infrastructure needs and proximity to dairy farms, Fitzgerald notes.

Through the study, EDGE expects to connect with an array of producers and processors to gather robust data.

“Obviously, we’re going to let the data drive where this goes,” he says of the study and what happens next.

However, with anticipated increased demand from those big processors, it just makes sense for Oneida County to get all its cows in a row, so to speak, so it’s prepared, especially as processed dairy products continue to grow in popularity.

“We want to be aware of what that plan is so we can position Central New York for some investment,” Fitzgerald says. “We want to position our community to experience growth.”

The entire study is expected to take between 12 and 15 months to complete, and EDGE is working on firming up the timeline and the deliverables expected.

“This is something that will be able to deliver some results to the community next year,” he says.

According to the Agriculture Census, 98 percent of farms in New York remain family owned. The total number of farms of all types fell from 33,438 to 30,650. The average net farm income is $76,281. The average producer age is 56.7 years old, and the number of farmers under the age of 35 declined from 6,718 to 6,335.

Reuse planning forges ahead for former St. Elizabeth and Faxton St. Luke’s hospitals

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

UTICA — Projects to repurpose Mohawk Valley Health System’s (MVHS) two former hospitals — St. Elizabeth Medical Center and Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare — are moving forward as the communities surrounding both facilities provide input on what should happen to them. Both facilities were active hospitals until October 2023 when they closed as MHVS transitioned

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Both facilities were active hospitals until October 2023 when they closed as MHVS transitioned to its new Wynn Hospital in downtown Utica. Since then, MVHS has partnered with several municipalities to navigate the reuse possibilities for each campus.

For Faxton St. Luke’s, that group includes Oneida County, Mohawk Valley EDGE, and the Town of New Hartford partnering with MVHS to undertake a master-planning effort for the 53-acre property.

The partners hired Fu Wilmers Design to lead the team of consultants developing a reuse plan with a timeline running from January through September.

“I think they’re going along well,” Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. says of the planning efforts. The project held its third community meeting on June 26, and public input has been a key part of the plan, he says. Each meeting has averaged between 70 and 80 attendees. An advisory group of community members and other stakeholders also contribute to the project.

In its initial phase, the project is looking at a variety of factors from environmental concerns to the condition of the existing buildings as it factors in community input to develop conceptual reuse plans including market analysis, potential budget, and environmental and community concerns.

The property is a unique one, Picente notes, which spans four municipalities — the city of Utica, the villages of New York Mills and Yorkville, and the town of New Hartford.

“It presents a lot more opportunity than the naked eye would see,” he says. “It presents a lot of opportunity for a lot of different things.”

The former Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare campus in New Hartford. Projects to determine potential reuses for this site and the former St. Elizabeth Medical Center campus in Utica are moving forward as project leaders continue to solicit public input. Both hospitals closed when Mohawk Valley Health System, which owns both campuses, consolidated its services at the new Wynn Hospital in downtown Utica.
PHOTO CREDIT: ZOEYADVERTISING.COM

One thing it wasn’t attractive for was serving as the site for the new hospital, he points out. While large, there was no way to build a facility as large as Wynn Hospital on the site without impacting the existing hospital operations.

The same was true for the St. Elizabeth campus, located in Utica, where the campus is mostly surrounded by residential neighborhoods except where it fronts Genessee Street.

The City of Utica is working with MVHS on the reuse planning and has held several community meetings. With a new mayor in office, the process has changed slightly with the focus moving from developing a concrete reuse plan to curating a list of possible reuses designed with community input.

“We restructured the process,” Utica Mayor Michael Galime says. He wanted to get away from the notion that the city was going to decide what happened with the property and encourage the community to truly get involved in the process.

The most-recent meeting, held in May, went over the ins and outs of four possible reuses from demolishing it all to build new single-family homes to housing plans that included adaptive reuse of the hospital building.

“The vast majority of all of the input has been a request for residential use,” Galime says.

A development group led by Buffalo-based law firm Rupp Pfalzgraf is leading the reuse-planning project. While Galime didn’t share a timeline, some of the next steps include more public meetings and conducting a general environmental impact study (EIS) and a general State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) they can present to potential developers.

“Once that is done, all that public input can be used to guide a developer,” he says.

More information about both reuse projects is available online at www.reimaginestlukes.com and at www.cityofutica.com/departments/urban-and-economic-development/planning/St-Elizabeths-Re-Use-Master-Plan.

ICAN grows with unique mix of services and offerings

Health Care, Mohawk Valley, Small Business, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

UTICA — From the Utica Children’s Museum to expanding its geographic footprint, ICAN — short for Integrated Community Alternatives Network — has been busy bringing its brand of resources to the Mohawk Valley and beyond. “It’s exciting stuff,” ICAN CEO and Executive Director Steven Bulger says of the growth at his organization. ICAN is a

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“It’s exciting stuff,” ICAN CEO and Executive Director Steven Bulger says of the growth at his organization. ICAN is a home and community-based network that offers services to individuals and families facing social, emotional, mental health, and behavioral challenges through its staff of 310 and a network of nearly 300 providers. The organization serves more than 2,100 individuals and families daily.

“Family is the fabric of the community,” Bulger says, and ICAN focuses on keeping that family strong and together.

In recent years, the ways ICAN approaches that goal have expanded beyond the more traditional counseling and support services.

The Utica Children’s Museum is one example of that. ICAN began offering managed services to the museum in 2017 before eventually becoming the only member of the museum’s 501(3)(c) nonprofit and bringing the museum into the ICAN family.

After a hard look at the museum’s operations and several years of planning and construction, ICAN is set to reopen the Utica Children’s Museum, which closed at its former downtown location at the start of the pandemic.

The new museum will open this coming December inside the new ICAN Family Resource Center on the Memorial Parkway in Utica. Features include a 4,000-square-foot rotunda and 10,000 square feet on the second floor, showcasing six galleries and 60 custom-fabricated exhibits.

While visitors — and ICAN is hoping for up to 40,000 annually — are enjoying the various exhibits and displays, they will also be surrounded by all the resources ICAN has to offer, and that’s important, Bulger says.

“It’s all about reducing barriers to help and reducing the stigma of asking for help,” he says. ICAN’s Family Resource Center houses the organization’s family-based programs, making it easy for museum visitors to access those programs.

It’s like the approach ICAN takes at its Elevate CNY Sports Complex in Whitesboro. ICAN purchased the former Rising Stars Sports Complex, a 60,000-square-foot facility, and began operating it in November 2022.

“What does a sports complex have to do with keeping families together?” Bulger asks. It turns out that it’s a lot when they infuse the “ICAN way” into it. That can include offerings beyond sports such as leadership academies and training programs, non-traditional programming for youth, creating opportunities for underserved groups to have access, and simply acting as an ICAN outreach center making people aware of services and how to get them.

Of course, sports remain a vital activity, and business is booming there, Bulger says. “Kids are using it more than ever before.” The complex hosts a variety of sports teams, is available for party rentals, and also services as a field-trip destination for area schools.

Speaking of area schools, ICAN has been busy there as well, Bulger says.

“One of our biggest areas of expansion is with schools and pushing into schools,” he says. In a school, ICAN serves as a safety net and helps take some of the pressure off school staff and teachers.

For this past school year, ICAN had staff in every school in the Utica City School District — and had to hire 40 new employees to achieve that goal, Bulger says. ICAN is starting to work with more area school districts.

The organization is also pushing east and west. In April, it opened a new office in Amsterdam. In the Syracuse area, ICAN is forging a new partnership with the Jon Diaz Community Center to operate a new center in Nedrow.

“We have a vision to continue to grow, to continue to expand,” Bulger says.

Founded in 1997, ICAN is headquartered at 310 Main St. in Utica and operates 20 programs in six counties.

FAA extends designation of Oneida County’s UAS test site

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Manufacturing & Engineering, Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only, Technology

ROME — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has extended the designation for the New York UAS test site at Griffiss International Airport in Rome until 2028. The extension was part of the FAA reauthorization bill that the U.S. Senate approved, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) announced on May 16. The New York UAS

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ROME — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has extended the designation for the New York UAS test site at Griffiss International Airport in Rome until 2028.

The extension was part of the FAA reauthorization bill that the U.S. Senate approved, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) announced on May 16.

The New York UAS test site at Griffiss International Airport is operated by AX Enterprize and owned by Oneida County.

A UAS includes a drone and equipment used to control its flight. A drone is also referred to in the industry as an unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV.

The Griffiss test site is one of only seven UAS test sites nationwide, and the extension is vital for UAS research and development so the Mohawk Valley and Central New York can continue to advance UAS research, “pioneer safe UAS operations in our national airspace, and accelerate UAS industry economic development across the region,” per Schumer’s office.

The FAA designation extension wasn’t the only headline generated at the test site in May.

Upstate Medical University says it completed a key test flight for its drone program that advances the university’s goal of transporting time-sensitive materials, drugs and lab samples by drone throughout the region, per its June 26 announcement.

Air Upstate, the university’s drone program, flew its first beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight from the pilot at the UAS test site in Rome to New York’s Homeland Security Training Center in Oriskany on May 22. The 18.6-mile round-trip flight took 18 minutes and 20 seconds.

Air Upstate Eiger drone — Air Upstate’s Eiger drone sits on its landing pad at the New York UAS test site at Griffiss International Airport in Rome. The drone was used in Upstate’s first beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight from Rome to Oriskany on May 22.
PHOTO CREDIT: UPSTATE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY WEBSITE

“We think that’s a big piece of the future,” Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente, Jr. says, referring to the Air Upstate BVLOS flight and its potential impact on the region’s health-care system. Picente spoke to CNYBJ in a July 10 phone interview.

“There’s going to be some great achievements in terms of delivery of meds, of blood, of other critical pieces that could help save lives,” he adds.

In speaking about the test flight, Picente went on to say, “It centers around what we envisioned when entered into the competition 11 years ago to become one of the seven federally accepted test sites and the [FAA designation] renewal is big news.”

With the passage of the FAA bill, Oneida County and Griffiss will be able to carry out and update a program for the use of UAS test ranges to enable development, testing, and evaluation activities related to UAS or their associated technologies and to support the safe integration of UAS into the national airspace system, per Schumer’s office.

“This extension of Oneida County’s prestigious UAS test site designation at Griffiss Airport will ensure the Mohawk Valley and Central New York can soar to new heights on cutting-edge UAS technology. I fought to include this vital provision in the FAA bill I led to passage to ensure we continue to position the region to build on its global airspace leadership and to pioneer the safe integration of UAS into the national airspace,” Schumer said in the May 16 announcement. “As one of only seven test sites in the country, the innovation and research being done at Griffiss in Oneida County is transporting the Mohawk Valley and Central NY to the next frontier of scientific innovation and was exactly what I had in mind when I secured it back in 2014 and extended it in 2018. The sky is the limit for the Mohawk Valley.”

The bill includes $30 million over five years for the seven UAS test sites around the nation and provides the FAA ability to stand up two additional UAS test ranges in addition to the existing ones.

“I’m extremely appreciative of Senator Schumer’s support for the FAA Authorization of the UAS Test Sites that was codified in the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Bill,” MC Chruscicki, co-founder of AX Enterprize, said in the Schumer announcement. “Oneida County’s NY UAS Test Site will continue to lead cutting edge collaborative research efforts with our military, homeland security and commercial partners. This is a key step in supporting Oneida County New York, our tribal nations, and the United States to secure our country while integrating drones safely into our society.”

Economic-development growth continues in Herkimer County

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Manufacturing & Engineering, Mohawk Valley, Small Business, Subscriber Only

HERKIMER — Being nestled along the state’s Chip Corridor is proving beneficial for Herkimer County, which has a flurry of economic-development activity underway. “We’re already seeing people talking to us from other countries because of Micron,” Herkimer County Industrial Development Agency (HCIDA) CEO John Piseck says. The news that Micron will open a semiconductor facility

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HERKIMER — Being nestled along the state’s Chip Corridor is proving beneficial for Herkimer County, which has a flurry of economic-development activity underway.

“We’re already seeing people talking to us from other countries because of Micron,” Herkimer County Industrial Development Agency (HCIDA) CEO John Piseck says.

The news that Micron will open a semiconductor facility in the town of Clay in Onondaga County has had ripple effects along and beyond the corridor — formally known as the NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub — that stretches from Buffalo to Syracuse.

With close proximity to the New York State Thruway (Interstate 90), as well as other major east-west routes, Herkimer County is well-situated and ready to benefit from the flurry of activity and interest surrounding Micron, Piseck says. “We feel as though we can truly benefit from where we’re located.”

Herkimer County already has and will continue to attract businesses on its own, he adds.

“We’re getting a ton of look-sees,” Piseck says, noting that one of the county’s newest business parks is nearing capacity.

The Schuyler Business Park began on about 99 acres with two tenants — Wilcor International and Schuyler Wood Pellet — but the HCIDA purchased an additional 188 acres in 2020. Of that, about 165 acres are developable and the HCIDA has been busy filling that park since.

“We have about 3.4 acres left there,” Piseck says. Tenants include Pepsi, The Fountainhead Group, and a Home Depot distribution center, with work moving forward on a convenience store and gas station.

The agency recently purchased 76 acres just down the road in Schuyler. Dubbing it the Four Corners, the HCIDA is already actively marketing the parcels located at 2323 State Route 5 and 2336 State Route 5.

“It’s exciting to see opportunities,” Piseck says.

Herkimer NY — PHOTO CREDIT: ZOEYADVERTISING.COM

In another project, the HCIDA acquired the building at 415 N. Main St. in Herkimer and will renovate the space including the installation of a state-certified kitchen with on-site parking for food trucks.

That will open more opportunity for people interested in starting a food-truck business, which requires access to a state-certified kitchen and a place to park the truck during off hours, Piseck notes.

“Then on the first floor, we’ll have co-working space,” he adds. The HCIDA plans to relocate its offices to the second floor, which also features a large 70-foot by 30-foot great room. The building once served as a Masonic Temple. Piseck says the IDA also hopes to create some type of rooftop venue as well.

Also in Herkimer, the HCIDA is actively involved with the village’s Brownfield Opportunity Area Plan and its Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) project. As a round seven awardee of the state program, the Village of Herkimer received $10 million in funding for projects that will help it reimagine its downtown area.

According to Piseck, projects have been submitted to the local committee for review. Once they are evaluated, the committee will forward its picks to the state for final review and funding.

In 2022, Little Falls was a round 5 recipient of $10 million through the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative for a slate of projects around the city as well as the establishment of a $600,000 fund for products to upgrade buildings, renovate vacant spaces, and more in the city’s downtown region. In conjunction with its urban renewal agency, the city is currently accepting applications for this funding from projects.

Over in Ilion, the HCIDA is very involved in developing a reuse plan for the former 1-million-square-foot Remington Arms factory. Owner Rem Arms closed the plant in March, shuttering the village’s largest employer for more than two centuries.

The HCIDA received a technical assistance grant to bring in Environmental Protection Agency consultants to help produce a plan to repurpose the facility, which sits on about 34 acres.

“We went through the whole facility,” Piseck says, adding that it has been well maintained and has good bones.

A second EPA grant is helping with environmental assessments, which are coming back clean so far, he adds.

“We’re hoping to see some great things come out of there,” says Piseck.

The IDA has also been busy near one of its older business parks, the Frankfort 5S South Business Park, located just off Route 5. The agency purchased the Russell Farm property, located just across Higby Road from the business park, several years ago and has been busy installing infrastructure including water, sewer, and electric, to provide space for additional development.

All the development, Piseck notes, is made possible by the cooperation of the municipalities in the county, as well as its residents.

“It really takes the 60,000 people in our county to make those projects happen,” he says.

Growth on the agenda for Kris-Tech Wire

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Manufacturing & Engineering, Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only

ROME — The dust will have barely settled from one expansion project before Kris-Tech Wire breaks ground this coming spring on another expansion to give the fast-growing company the space it needs. The wire manufacturer just finished an 80,000-square-foot expansion at its 80 Otis St. facility, Wendy Calabrese, director of employee engagement, says. But it

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ROME — The dust will have barely settled from one expansion project before Kris-Tech Wire breaks ground this coming spring on another expansion to give the fast-growing company the space it needs.

The wire manufacturer just finished an 80,000-square-foot expansion at its 80 Otis St. facility, Wendy Calabrese, director of employee engagement, says. But it wasn’t long into that project that Kris-Tech realized it wasn’t going to be enough.

That’s why the firm will break ground in the spring of 2024 on a 90,000-square-foot addition entirely devoted to production space, she says.

In the meantime, Kris-Tech is settling into its most recent addition, which includes new production and manufacturing space as well as conference rooms, a second break room, and a new training facility.

The addition also allowed the company to close a leased production location in the former Harden Furniture factory in Blossvale.

“We’ve since closed that, and we’re all under one roof now,” Calabrese says. The move has boosted morale and camaraderie at the plant. “There’s people that haven’t seen each other in over a year that are rekindling friendships.”

Fresh off a retreat to set 2025 sales goals, Kris-Tech isn’t slowing down any time soon. The company invested in its sales force in recent years, which is driving much of the company’s growth.

“Our sales team is stronger than ever,” Calabrese says.

The growing solar industry is also giving the business a sales boost. Kris-Tech Wire is used in an array of applications from buildings to solar arrays.

The company’s employee count is growing as well, adding 23 employees in recent months to bring its current total to just over 180 employees. Kris-Tech Wire will still add about another dozen employees this year, Calabrese adds, with positions ranging from engineering to production.

“The following year, we’re going to need at least 30,” she says. “We’re very excited. It’s great for the community, too.” Many of the company’s employees come from the surrounding communities including Rome, Camden, Lee Center, Utica, and Holland Patent.

Along with its currently 200,000 square feet of space in Rome, Kris-Tech also operates a 40,000-square-foot facility in Houston, Texas to meet growing demand in that part of the country, Calabrese says.

Brothers Gerry and Glenn Brodock founded the company in 1984. Graham Brodock, the third generation, leads the company today.

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