Worker pay declines in much of New York and Upstate NY in fourth quarter:
https://www.newyorkupstate.com/news/...h-quarter.html
SUNY POLY RECEIVES $568K IN GRANTS TO SPUR OFFSHORE-WIND TRAINING PROGRAMS:
https://www.cnybj.com/suny-poly-rece...ning-programs/
Queensbury, 'Delivering a Great Escape': Resort President Rebecca Wood guides park to success:
https://www.timesunion.com/business/...harecount=OQ==
Renewable Energy is Growing In the Mid-Hudson Region:
https://www.hvpilot.com/news/renewab...414c23d8b.html
GRE says it brings millions worth of investments to the Finger Lakes region. Here's how:
https://www.democratandchronicle.com...e/70234628007/
From the article: "For 20 years now, Greater Rochester Enterprise has been connecting businesses with resources throughout the nine-county Finger Lakes region and creating new jobs for residents.
Whether it’s the Coca-Cola company looking to build a $650 million Fairlife production facility or a local Rochester business hoping to expand, Greater Rochester Enterprise, known as GRE, caters to businesses of all sizes, the organization says.
”When a company calls and is looking for assistance, and it might be formal programs from our state and local partners or our city partners, or it might be looking at real estate, or it might just be trying to understand who else in the region provides a certain service or a product. So we provide that connectivity,” said Matt Hurlbutt, president and CEO of Greater Rochester Enterprise.
The not-for-profit organization is supported, in large part, by local businesses and aims to help them grow and succeed.
The following is an interview with Hurlbutt, who shares his thoughts about Greater Rochester Enterprise and how its work benefits the community. His answers have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Q: What does GRE (Greater Rochester Enterprise) do in Monroe County and other counties?
A: We promote the region for business investments and work with companies to invest here.
We also support local companies (that) are growing, including smaller companies, such as Envative, who's growing in downtown Rochester, to some of our larger (ones), like Plug Power, LiDestri Food and Drink, and others.
And some of our economic development partners (help) to do that, to really act as a clearinghouse that one-stop shop for companies who are growing and act as that connector and convener.
Q: Why do you think the Rochester region is a good place for businesses to locate and grow?
A: If you look at what's transforming the world now, innovative companies are growing, and it's easy to connect here. The fact that we're a large metropolitan area, certainly that we're located with natural resources with the unlimited water, or we're within close proximity of major markets, as well as Canadian markets, outstanding colleges and universities. And that's part of what we want to tell the world is that this is the place to be for the future.
We're very optimistic not just because of the work we do, but what we see on a daily basis and trying to tell that story of the smart people that are doing business here, helping them connect to each other as well as understand that the total range of the business opportunities, the career opportunities and the quality of life. It's easy to get around here. It's beautiful here. And I think we should brag about it more.
Q: Are any of the projects listed on the website still under construction?
A: Yes, the Li-Cycle Hub project recently expanded beyond the original announcement we made in 2019. So that's really fun. Edwards will break ground soon for their semiconductor supply chain vacuum component, manufacturing in Genesee County. And then others are in phases of planning, and then some renovation. Optimax is moving forward in its facility as well. We've got several projects that are in various states of build-out.
Q: How will these projects impact the community and its involvement in new developments?
A: It's always good any business that's investing here, especially from our viewpoint, is significant. And small companies can grow into large companies, so every company matters to us. We take every call whether it's large or small. And the connectivity sometimes is very interesting.
Li-Cycle is an interesting example, where they are GRE investors, so they're supporting our mission. They located their spoke facility here with a smaller investment, which led to this large — over $500 million, or 270 jobs — first-of-its-kind lithium-ion battery recycling hub. So, while the initial investment was about 23 people and several million dollars, it led to this larger engagement.
Q: Do any of the projects provide resources for students?
A:
Well, actually, the companies that we are talking to will utilize the Finger Lakes Workforce Development Center as a resource. We are very engaged with (Monroe Community College) MCC and multiple levels. Promoting the FWD Center for Career Opportunities is very important, not just to GRE, but I really think for the prosperity of the whole region. Actually, the executive leadership for Fairlife visited that facility. So has Edwards on several occasions, and many of the companies that we are working with, some of whom I can't really disclose at this point.
But that access to talented people, the ability to train and customize training for machine process control Mechatronics optics, photonics and imaging is really critical to our for future growth and includes Corning, who announced a major expansion here, as well, and other optics firms.
So, yes, we work with them and promote that as well as our other colleges and universities. They're all part of our talent pipeline and very important to what we do.
Q: Aside from providing jobs, how will these projects benefit Monroe County economically?
A:
Well, with the Coca-Cola company's Fairlife investment, they’ll be purchasing their milk from upstate dairy farmers. That will be a significant investment, 5 million pounds (a day). So that will be a huge benefit to our dairy farmers who are doing an outstanding job already. But then we'll certainly see growth because of that and hiring locally.
Q: Are there any other efforts being put toward environmental sustainability during the development of these projects?
A: Oh, yes, to a degree. So, companies are very involved in LEED certification and sustainability. And it kind of depends on the company itself, its culture, and the technology. They're involved with some recycled water, for example, and others are working and LiDestri food and drink, for example, is working with Golisano Institute for Sustainability to reduce their waste as they bring in tomatoes for processing.
And we've had other interesting engagements with Love Beets, who leveraged drone technology and Cornell researchers to help increase the yields for the beets that are growing in the area. It's also about growing, literally growing smart, and working with our farmers for better yields and also helping them in their sustainability efforts. "
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