Infrastructure, Location, Workforce Keys to Region
Published Apr 15, 2004
Tony Williams, Owens Corning
When Tony Williams moved from Toledo, Ohio, in 1993 to assume a human-resources position at Owens Corning, a fiberglass manufacturing company located in Bethlehem, he was happy to be returning to his New York roots – and to an economy that was beginning to support a wider range of businesses while sustaining traditional industries such as manufacturing and distribution.
“Regardless of the industry, it’s just a good place for companies and their employees. We sit in a beautiful, almost rural setting with mountains in the background, and we’re just 1 1/2 hours from New York City, two hours from Boston and 30 to 40 minutes from the Adirondacks,” says Williams, who is a native of Revena, a small village just 15 miles south of Albany.
As the high-tech sector steadily expands, existing companies such as Owens Corning – which opened its Bethlehem plant in 1976 – and Beech-Nut – a $120 billion company with locations in Canajoharie and Fort Plain – are continuing to contribute to the economic expansion of New York’s Tech Valley.
According to Sal Stazzone, vice president of marketing for Beech-Nut, the Tech Valley offers a number of advantages to companies in traditional industries, including an established transportation system, a skilled workforce, and positive city and local government involvement.
“We’ve received a great response from the state of New York Economic Development, which has been very supportive in assisting our growth initiatives. Also, we have a good working relationship with the local town governments,” says Stazzone, noting that Beech-Nut employs more than 350 Tech Valley residents at its manufacturing plant and distribution center.
As longtime anchors in the business community continue to prosper, major corporations such as Gap Inc. are also moving distribution and service centers to the Tech Valley, citing its central location and existing infrastructure as attractive factors.
“We were looking for a site in the northeast United States, preferably within close proximity to our important New York stores. It had to offer excellent infrastructure, including quick and easy access to interstate highways, and it had to make sense financially,” says Gap Inc. spokeswoman Debbie Eliades about the company’s 1999 decision to open a campus-style distribution center on a 200-acre site in Fishkill’s Merritt Park. Today, Gap’s Tech Valley distribution center employs more than 900 local residents and provides merchandise to Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic stores throughout the region.
Four years before Gap moved to the area, another large Tech Valley employer, Uniprise, a division of UnitedHealth Group, opened a major call center in Ulster County to provide customer service to more than 9 million clients.
“Our experience in Ulster County has been a great one. The critical success factor for our service business is the quality of our employees – New York’s Tech Valley provides a skilled and loyal employee base,” says Brendan Conlon, director of service operations for Uniprise.
Local business analysts say that while attracting technology firms has become a primary focus for the Tech Valley in recent years, sustaining existing businesses while promoting diversification remains important to the economy.
“There’s a unique set of factors that contribute to the broad appeal of the Tech Valley. It’s a growing, vibrant region where traditional economy companies are still important,” says Kelly Lovell, president and CEO of the Albany-based Center for Economic Growth, a not-for-profit corporation that promotes the Capital Region.
Story by Valerie Shead
Photo by Stephen Cherry
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