Bank of New York chooses Syracuse for 800-job expansion

Dey's Centennial Plaza, downtown Syracuse location for Bank of New York expansion

In the wake of the 9/11 disaster, Bank of New York knew it had a problem: Much of its infrastructure, heavily concentrated in Manhattan, was now vulnerable, as the immense disruption of the company’s business that day—and for some time afterward—proved. Thus, “the need to increase the geographic diversity of our operations was critical,” said CEO Thomas A. Renyi.

Bank of New York looked everywhere, reviewing their entire global operations. They picked Syracuse for an expansion that will bring up to 800 jobs. Why? According to New York Gov. George Pataki, they wanted to find “the right location that offered the most opportunities for growth.” A quick review of economic activity confirms that Syracuse is, indeed, growing. In fact, Bank of New York already has a presence here: a 477-employee technology and operations center.

In addition to Syracuse’s growing business reputation—or is it a reputation for growing businesses?—insiders note that labor quality, quality of life (see “Rush” article, in box), easy access to the airport and “strong surface infrastructure” were the major factors in the company’s decision to expand here. “Onondaga County has...the high-quality workforce we require, and we look forward to expanding...in the years ahead,” said Bank of New York Sr. Exec. VP Donald R. Monks.

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ICM says “I see growth”

ICM President Ronald B. Kadah thanks State Senator Nancy Lorraine Hoffman and County Executive Nicholas J. Pirro for their support at the Hancock Airpark ground breaking

Unfortunately, ICM Controls can’t build a control that regulates the cost of power or the flow of incentives. For that, they turned to their local government representatives and the result was the announcement of a major new facility at the Hancock Air Park in Cicero, N.Y. ICM’s president, Ronald B. Kadah, says that State Senator Nancy Larraine Hoffmann and Onondaga County Executive Nicholas Pirro were instrumental in helping the 75,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility become a reality. It’s set to open in June 2005.

Hoffmann announced a new $100,000 legislative grant, which helped ICM make a final commitment to build the plant. In addition, according to Pirro, ICM will receive Empire Zone benefits, as well as “sales tax exemptions, mortgage recording tax exemptions and PILOT benefits” which “helped ICM build its future right here in our county.”

Other states were courting ICM with incentive packages. Apparently, a combination of incentives and outstanding support from local government made the difference. “If all of our government worked together as well as the senator and the country executive, we would all be far better off,” noted Kadah. He also thanked the Town of Cicero for its business-friendly environment. “We had a lot of choices and many attractive packages placed before us,” said Kadah,”but the...Town of Cicero made our decision easier.”

In the Syracuse metropolitan area, helping businesses grow and expand is something we’ve got under control.

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At last, the Technology Garden bears fruit

Workers put finishing touches on Technology Garden entrance

To the delight of entrepreneurs everywhere, the much-anticipated Syracuse Technology Garden will open soon.

Perhaps the area’s most visible testament to our support for entrepreneurship, the Technology Garden has applications from a large variety of entrepreneurs seeking to occupy its high-tech offices. In order to gain entrance to this unique facility, applicant companies had to provide a business plan and offer a high-tech product or service that can be commercialized. In return, start-ups were assured of an unprecedented level of support from government. “The value of coming here is not only that you’ll get a first-class facility but also [that] people are eager to help you grow and graduate,” says Nasir Ali, vice president of new-venture development at the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce. “Graduation” means that a company achieves $2 million in annual revenue, employs 20 full-time staff, is bought by another company, conducts an IPO, or raises $2 million in venture capital.

Before that excitement arrives, however, successful applicants also enjoy the Technology Garden’s “techie” interior. It is comprised of a large videoconferencing room, ultra-high-tech audio-visual and videoconferencing equipment, and some appropriately tech-looking architectural lines and spaces. Divided into about 20 offices, ranging from 300 to 4,000 sq. ft., the incubator has the support of federal, state and county dollars, as well as financial support from Verizon and engineering assistance from NASA. A staff of richly experienced volunteers is also available to help entrepreneurs with economic and business development.

Indeed, it takes a village to raise a Garden.

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In this case, not being ranked was a rush!

In case you haven’t read the Texas Transportation Institute’s 2004 Urban Mobility Report, we’ll cut to the important part: out of the 85 metropolitan centers listed as having rush-hour traffic problems, Syracuse was not among them. The significance of this non-ranking goes beyond the mere pleasure of not having to drive for hours in heavy traffic just to get to work and back home, and coughing down exhaust from the stalled motorists in front of you. As the study points out, the congested metros suffer financially, too; the annual financial cost of traffic congestion is more than $63 billion, with a large chunk of that coming from the 5.6 billion gallons of fuel that’s wasted while idling.

Of course, Syracuse also has the quality of life to go along with the lack of a traffic problem: total travel time to work and back can take about 20 minutes here, while in some places it’s more like 2-3 hours. That’s a big part of anyone’s day.

Bottom line: Bring your business to Syracuse, and breathe easy.

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Carrier confirms its commitment to the ’Cuse

After announcing last year that it was going to be eliminating some jobs in Syracuse, Carrier Corporation has come back in a big way, designating its Syracuse campus as one of the company’s major global lead design centers in the United States. This is a major endorsement of the engineering and product development capabilities of the Syracuse workforce, because the announcement comes at a time when Carrier is reducing its number of design centers around the world. According to Ted Amyuni, Sr. VP of Operations, “The Syracuse campus offers a number of advantages to Carrier as we evaluated locations for global lead design centers.” Among the advantages cited by Amyuni is the number of “local organizations pursuing research in
related disciplines.”

Carrier sees the new Syracuse design center engaged in global platform development work, especially in HVAC, transport and commercial refrigeration, bus air-conditioning, compression, environmental technologies, and indoor air quality.

Amyuni noted in his announcement that “Carrier reaffirms its commitment to Syracuse as a global engineering and design center capable of meeting the company’s evolving product development needs in the global marketplace.” This means it also reaffirms Syracuse’s commitment to economic growth. And when it comes attached to the world’s largest manufacturer of air conditioning and refrigeration technologies, that’s pretty cool.

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Tessy redux: 100 more jobs, a lot more capacity

Tessy Plastics Will Add a 40,000 Sq. Ft. Addition

Just a year ago, the Syracuse area’s Tessy Plastics Corporation added about 100 jobs and 60,000 square feet.

For the company and the local economy, it’s déjà vu all over again.

The company is about to add 40,000 square feet and another 100 jobs as it gears up for a new medical products customer. Roland Beck, Tessy’s president, was pleased to bring the jobs here. He was helped, in large part, by an Empire Zone grant. The grant helped Tessy’s local plant compete for the business with out-of-state manufacturers.

Beck has spoken previously about his admiration for the local workforce, and when asked why the new customer picked Tessy, his explanation didn’t differ significantly from the last expansion. “They like our engineering talent and quality,” said Beck.

Some stories are worth repeating.

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Newsletter Archive

• Fall 2003 Newsletter
• Spring 2004 Newsletter