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BNE HELPS BRING CANADIAN METAL FABRICATOR TO ERIE COUNTY

New York State Economic Development  Council  Bi-Monthly Newsletter

December, 2010

A Canadian manufacturer that fabricates metal for large-scale applications has decided to expand its operations in a vacant factory in Lackawanna, Erie County.

Buffalo Niagara Enterprise, which helped facilitate the deal, cited three primary factors in Linita Design and Manufacturing's decision to expand in New York: improved access to U.S. markets; avoidance of the challenge of crossing into the United States with trucks that are too heavy for bridges; and reduction of shipping costs.

"This is a good win for Lackawanna and the Buffalo Niagara region as a whole, and it shows that we're a viable alternative for Canadian manufacturing companies," said Thomas A. Kucharski, president and CEO of the Buffalo Niagara Enterprise economic development organization.

Linita, which makes gates and hoists for hydropower dams, generates just over half of its sales in the United States.
The Lackawanna site was appropriate because the company was seeking a facility with existing overhead cranes. The company was also considering a possible venue in Pennsylvania.

Linita bought Integrated Terminals, a 69,500-square-foot site in Lackawanna. The company has said it expects to hire 35 people over three years and invest more than $1.7 million.

BNE first learned of the project from ESD's Toronto office in January 2008. BNE helped Linita with site selection, access to incentives, workforce and cross-border issues, introductions to professional service providers, wage rates, and demographic information.
Incentives and assistance that facilitated the deal came from a variety of sources, including the state Department of Labor, Empire State Development, the Erie County Industrial Development Agency and the Lackawanna Empire Zone.