AXA GROWTH
BRISTOL-MYERS
CHAMBER ECONOMIC CHAMPIONS
FIBER TO HOME
50 HOTTEST CITIES
SYRACUSE QUALITY OF LIFE GETS 5 STARS
TECH GARDEN FOLLOW-UP
WORLD CLASS R&D PARK

AXA Financial to Create 300 Jobs in Syracuse

One of the nation’s leading financial services companies, AXA Financial, recently announced that it would not only add 300 new jobs to its customer service center in Syracuse but would retain the current 700 already here, giving downtown Syracuse and the entire region a huge financial boost. As a result of this increased commitment and investment, AXA is now eligible to apply for a $1.25 million Empire State Development grant, an Empire Zone Wage Tax Credit, and other state and local incentives.

AXA Financial’s president and chief executive officer, Christopher Condron, said, “We have 700 highly productive employees in Syracuse and are excited to expand our operations by adding 300 more positions.”

AXA’s expansion is a perfect example of the kinds of financial considerations companies can expect when they plan a relocation or expansion to Syracuse. Indeed, David Cordeau, president of the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, was “gratified” that AXA “rewarded the hard work of Empire State Development and our local economic development team.”

Onondaga County Executive Nicholas Pirro applauded the decision, offering “our continued support together with the governor and the state to ensure that [the companies] of AXA Financial remain in Central New York. Governor George Pataki added that “this decision sends a clear signal that this fast-growing company has confidence in New York’s economy.”

AXA Financial has about $552 billion in assets under management. Its brands include AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, AXA Advisors, Alliance Capital Management, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., AXA Distributors, and the MONY family of companies.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Invests $100 Million in Next Generation

Bristol-Myers Squibb has announced that it will invest $100 million in its East Syracuse campus to manufacture the next generation of breakthrough drugs, developed from biologics. With this announcement, Bristol-Myers Squibb has put Central New York on the cutting edge of this new kind of drug development and manufacturing.

This major announcement opens up a whole new chapter in the company’s storied history here. (Bristol’s Syracuse campus was home to the development and distribution of penicillin, among other significant events.) Biologics is the science of using large molecules of plants or animals to make drugs. By making biologic drugs in Syracuse, Bristol has, in effect, given Central New York an opportunity to specialize in biologic drug manufacturing.

The investment is especially great economic news for Syracuse, because Bristol had previously indicated that it would use its facility here only to make small quantities of drugs to be used in clinical trials. Now, Bristol wants to position facilities like its East Syracuse complex “that have the technology and expertise for more complex molecules
. . . to not only supply clinicals, but then launch” the drugs, said Ken Dauria, senior director of manufacturing operations in East Syracuse.

Specifically, Bristol will use its local facility to make large quantities of the main ingredient of abatacept, a new drug to treat rheumatoid arthritis. The company is hoping that abatacept is the next big thing, and has invested accordingly. In 2004 alone, it hired 150 new workers to manufacture the abatacept ingredient and two others currently in clinical trials. In addition to the new manufacturing it brings to Central New York, biologics might also generate new college curriculums on drug 7 processing. Bristol is in discussions with the Central New York Biotechnology Research Center to develop the curriculum.

This Year, More Economic Champions in the Chamber

At the annual Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce Economic Champions Recognition Luncheon this year, 236 companies were recognized for their contributions to the local economy—76 more than last year. To qualify as an Economic Champion, a company must have contributed to the region’s economy by adding employees, expanding their space or moving to another space, or making capital expenditures. This year’s group added over 2,800 jobs and invested $36 million in new equipment and facilities

The significance, of course, is the dramatic year-over-year jump in the number of contributors. Small-business development has been the engine of growth for the Syracuse area, and nothing better exemplifies that growth than the number of new companies that are expanding. This kind of economic vitality has contributed mightily to Syracuse’s rising employment rate (which is below the state average) and dramatically decreasing dependency on any single large company or industry. There’s economic strength in diversity, and it’s nowhere more apparent right now than Syracuse!

As Verizon Feeds Syracuse Its Fiber, Economy Grows Healthier

Syracuse has scored an exciting technology two-fer: Verizon Communications has chosen Syracuse as a test market for a brand-new high-tech venture, and will be adding as many as 150 people to its call center in DeWitt. They’ll be supporting customers who order Verizon’s new fiber-optic services.

Verizon will establish the Fiber Solutions Center to handle calls for installation, troubleshooting and other customer service for the company’s fiber-based FiOS service, currently available in parts of eight states. The fiber-optic lines are more efficient than the copper telephone wires it replaces, carrying phone calls, television signals and super-fast Internet connections. Eventually, Verizon plans to add cable television service in some areas.

Rep. James Walsh, R-Onondaga, said that Verizon’s investment in fiber in the Syracuse area “heralds a new era of technology” in Central New York.

Syracuse Now a “Top 50” Hottest Place to Expand!

Companies looking to relocate or expand should consider Syracuse, according to Expansion Management online. They asked 80 leading site-location specialists to consider their experiences (and those of their clients), and rank metropolitan areas across the country in a wide range of areas. Syracuse was #42 nationwide, and the highest ranked city in New York State!

The poll was especially significant because it “measures the perceptions of professional site location consultants,” said Bill King, chief editor of Expansion Management, a monthly business magazine for executives of companies actively looking for a place to expand or relocate within the next three to five years.

To find its hottest cities list, the magazine asked site location consultants which cities their clients find most attractive when it comes to actually selecting an expansion or relocation site, taking into consideration factors like business climate, work force quality, operating costs, incentive programs, and ease of working with local development officials.

The results, and Syracuse’s ascension into its ranks, dovetails with Syracuse’s recent economic surge. The Syracuse area has rapidly become not only the physical center of Northeast commerce, but a leading player in the business growth and relocation arena. (See the “Tech Garden Puts Syracuse in Entrepreneurial Fast Lane” article for part of the reasons why.)

Syracuse Quality of Life Gets Five Stars

Expansion Management magazine has named Syracuse as a 5-Start Metro in it's 7th Annual Quality of Life Quotient listed in it's March 2005 issue. The ranking compares 362 MSA's and focuses on 9 broad categories with two to ten factors in each. The top 20% or 72 metros earn the coveted "Five Star" distinction.
“True quality of life is about employees being able to afford to tap into the American Dream,” said Bill King, editor of Expansion Management, a monthly magazine for executives of companies that are actively looking for the best location to expand or relocate their facilities within the next one to three years. “It’s about being able to afford to own a home, to be able to send your children to good schools, to feel safe from crime, to live in a place with a reasonable cost of living. This study simply shows you a way to quantify what most people still consider a highly subjective area.”
“Quality of life is available at just about any place in the United States,” continues King. “The only question is how much it will cost to an individual to tap into it. That’s an important issue for employers, because it translates into how much an employer will have to pay to obtain and retain quality employees.”
The Top 20 percent of MSAs earned the coveted “Five Star” distinction, while the next 20 percent of MSAs) received a “Four Star” distinction.
For a comparison of Upstate NY metros and a brief description of the categories, click here. For a copy of the Quality of Life Quotient 2005 article, go to Expansion Management’s Web site at www.ExpansionManagement.com and look under RESEARCH STUDIES.

Tech Garden Puts Syracuse in Entrepreneurial Fast Lane

The Syracuse Technology Garden (STG) is both a symptom and a cause of the economic revolution taking place in the city. Some amazing new technologies are incubating there, invaluable alliances have been forged—including the Garden’s relationship with NASA—and the diversity of jobs being created there has helped turn Syracuse into a small-company growth leader no longer dependent on one company or industry.

“The smaller companies are the future,” says Nasir Ali, vice president for new venture development at the STG, which is why the economic future of Syracuse looks so great right now. Entrepreneurship is exploding, with a tremendous wealth of time and resources being put toward helping small businesses develop, grow and flourish here. That’s thanks, in part, to the efforts of the Entrepreneurial Council, which was formed to develop strategies to make Syracuse more entrepreneur friendly.

To that end, the STG has been teeming with activity. Ali and his associates have been building and strengthening relationships with the several local colleges and universities—a huge pool of talent both for employment and good business advice. In fact, the STG has partnered with Syracuse University’s CASE Center—part of its engineering school—which has its own business incubator. Between them, they’ve put together a number of experienced people to help entrepreneurs start businesses. It is part of the STG’s wider effort, called the Mentor Network, which was formed to bring in successful business people to advise entrepreneurs.

The STG also has a brand-new Guest Consultant Program, which affords entrepreneurs the opportunity to talk to people who have started their own companies. They’ve covered such topics as the importance of using brand development, basics on trademarks and patents, legal advice and general corporate strategy. The best part, for cost-conscious entrepreneurs, is that the experts are offering their advice for free. “They’re volunteering,” says Ali, “so the meter’s not running.”

And then, of course, there’s the NASA connection. As a public-service component of its operations, NASA makes their engineers available to the public to help them solve their problems. Anybody, says Ali, is eligible for this assistance.

If you have a business idea that needs a place to go and grow, you won’t find a better partner than Syracuse. To get started, you have a number of Syracuse options: go to SyracuseTechnologyGarden.com, cnyAngel.com (it’s part of the STG that helps start-up companies with their financing), or SyracuseEntrenpreneur.com.

Give ’em a shout, and get growing now!

World Class R&D Park

The future is here! DestiNY USA has announced plans to develop a world-class research and development park to be located at the crossroads of Interstates 81 and 90. The Living Laboratory will house companies developing innovative technologies in renewable energy, security, building systems, sustainable design, transportation, and lifestyle technologies. For detailed information about the Science Park, click here. For complete information about DestiNY USA projects, visit their web site at www.DestiNYUSA.com.

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