Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Plug Power investing $2.8 million in new Saratoga County production plant
Plug Power is expanding into a new 38,400-square-foot building in Saratoga County to help increase the production of its hydrogen fuel cell technology.
It is a $2.8 million investment that will create almost 100 new jobs for the fuel cell manufacturer.
The building, at 620 Van Patten Dr. in Clifton Park, is off of I-87 at exit 10, about 15 minutes north of Plug Power's headquarters in Latham. The company is hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new space on Friday with U.S. Congressman Paul Tonko, who was a vocal supporter of reinstating a fuel cell tax credit that is crucial to Plug Power's business.
The project is receiving performance-based tax credits through the Excelsior Jobs Program from New York state, according to a press release from Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office. Empire State Development will provide around $640,000 in tax credits.
Plug Power (Nasdaq: PLUG) makes fuel cells used to power forklifts in warehouses and distribution centers. Fuel cells are seen as an alternative to lead-acid batteries.
Plug has shipped more than 20,000 fuel cell units to dozens of customers including Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Nike (NYSE: NKE).
The company needed to increase its production after securing major deals with Amazon and Walmart in 2017.
Plug is one of the largest manufacturers in the area and is also one of the area's few public companies, employing more than 600 engineers, researchers and technologists.
CEO Andy Marsh has been working to make Plug profitable for the first time in 20 years. He came to Plug Power in 2008 with an overhauled business plan and has spent almost 10 years converting Plug from a research company into a manufacturer.
In addition to its material handling business, Marsh has been mapping out what the future of Plug Power will look like, with potential to expand into on-road delivery vehicles, and to partner with companies in China.
Plug Power is on track to see gross revenues between $155 million and $180 million this year. Marsh said the company expects to break even in the second half of 2018.
Plug Power's shareholders, unsatisfied with the company's lack of profitability, have driven the company's stock down. The stock closed on Monday at $1.89. Its highest price this year has been $3.21, with its lowest annual price at $1.53.
16 area companies make annual Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing businesses
Marketing firms, real estate agencies, retailers and cybersecurity specialists were among the businesses representing the Capital Region on the 2018 Inc. 5000 List.
The annual report measures three-year revenue growth to rank the fastest-growing private companies in the country.
Topping the Inc. 5000 list in the region was Darn Good Yarn, which also topped the Business Review's Fastest-Growing Companies List with 903 percent growth. More growth could be in the company's future, as it recently moved into a larger space in Halfmoon.
To find out more about the 16 local companies that made the Inc. 5000, click through the slideshow above.
The No. 1 company on the list this year was SwanLeap, based in Madison, Wisconsin. SwanLeap uses an artificial intelligence platform and custom software to help large clients save money on shipping and manage their supply chain. The company has grown 75,661 percent over the past three years.
The Business Review also creates a Fastest-Growing Companies List, which includes solely companies in the Albany region. Check it out below.
State awards Griffiss Institute $2M for IDEA NY business competition targeting Mohawk Valley
ROME, N.Y. — The Griffiss Institute will use a $2 million state grant to support IDEA NY, a business-accelerator competition.
It’s a 12-month program that will “incentivize promising entrepreneurs to create and grow viable” commercial businesses in the Mohawk Valley region, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced.
IDEA NY is short for Innovation & Development Entrepreneurial Accelerator NY Mohawk Valley program. It will focus on the cyber security, big data, information systems, and UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) industries.
It will also build on the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Commercialization Academy, which is described in the release as a “national leader for facilitating the transfer of military technologies into the commercial marketplace.”
The Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council recommended the funding award.
“The IDEA NY business competition will attract entrepreneurs to the Mohawk Valley and foster innovative businesses in fast-growing sectors of the 21st century economy,” Cuomo contended in the release.
How it works
The grant will enable the Griffiss Institute to provide seed money to entrepreneurs and businesses over three years, with two cohorts of up to 10 teams per year competing for IDEA NY funding. Teams will enter the Air Force Research Laboratory Commercialization Academy business-incubator program, and then compete for $300,000 in prize seed funding, with $200,000 going to the overall winner and $100,000 going to the runner-up.
The program will award the remaining teams up to $8,000 in “consolation” prize money to reimburse for expenses incurred during the incubation process.
The two winning teams will then participate in the year-long IDEA NY accelerator program, in which technical assistance will be provided to help them grow their businesses. The Griffiss Institute will host these teams, and they’ll be “required to reside in the Mohawk Valley for at least one year,” Cuomo’s office said.
The Griffiss Institute and its partners will recruit teams through existing local and national networks. The two prize winners will commit to moving their businesses to the Mohawk Valley for a minimum of 12 months.
“I am very excited about this grant! To my knowledge, this is the most significant example of any state teaming with a national laboratory to create new business, new jobs, and economic growth,” William Wolf, president of Griffiss Institute, said in Cuomo’s release. “IDEA NY will boost talented entrepreneurs to create new business, right here in the Mohawk Valley. Building on the AFRL Commercialization Academy with its proven record of 45 new startups in the past four years, the IDEA NY accelerator program will attract even more highly-qualified visionaries to our region.”
The nonprofit Griffiss Institute “advocates and facilitates” the co-operation of private industry, academia and the Air Force Research Laboratory information directorate, in “developing solutions to critical cyber-security problems,” according to its website.
The Air Force Research Laboratory information directorate is the official name of what is known locally as Rome Lab.
Unemployment picture improves in New York and 10 other states
Unemployment rates declined in 11 of the 50 states last month, and New York was among them.
New York’s jobless rate dropped by two-tenths of a percentage point between June and July — from 4.5 percent down to 4.3 percent. That was tied for the largest decline in the nation, with Alaska, Georgia, New Mexico and South Carolina also shaving two-tenths of a point off of their rates, according to a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia registered no change in their unemployment rates, while two states (Louisiana and Maine) posted slight increases.
New York’s unemployment rate, despite its improvement in July, remained higher than the national jobless rate of 3.9 percent for the same month.
July shined on the employment front around Buffalo
July marked another month of steady gains for jobseekers.
The Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area private-sector employment base increased by 6,700 in the past year, a growth rate of 1.4 percent.
Educational services and education and health-related services were the leading sectors for employment. Less than a handful of job classifications — notably retail trade and food services — had decreases compared to a year ago.
Counting the public sector, overall (or nonfarm jobs) employment around Buffalo was up 6,900, or 1.2 percent from last July.
Rochester was the hottest labor market in Upstate, adding 9,400 private jobs, up 2.1 percent. Syracuse gained 4,000 private jobs, or 1.5 percent. Albany rose by 2,500 private jobs, or 0.7 percent.
New York state’s private-sector job count rose by 7,900, or 0.1 perccent, to 8.19 million, an all-time high, according to the preliminary figures from the Department of Labor.
The statewide unemployment rate decreased from 4.5 percent to 4.3 percent last month.
Manufacturers in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro area are adding jobs after a few months without much growth, says state Department of Labor market analyst Kevin Alexander.
The industry added 500 jobs in July compared with July 2017, an increase of 1.9 percent.
"Manufacturing saw, in this monthly survey, did see a bit of a bounce back," Alexander said. "Since March, they actually haven't been adding jobs."
He said the goods producing sector, which manufacturing and construction are part of, was a positive area in this month's labor data for the Albany region with 900 jobs added year over year.
"That's actually the largest gain that the goods producing sector has seen since June 2017," Alexander said.
The Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro area added 2,500 jobs in July over last year, an increase of 0.7 percent. Statewide, the private-sector added 7,900 jobs year over year.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
