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Plug Power has increased its projected revenue goal for 2018, to between $175 million and $190 million in gross revenue, as the company sees significant growth this year.
The Latham, New York, fuel cell manufacturer previously said gross revenue would range from $155 million to $180 million.
“As a result of continued domestic and international growth across our lines of business paired with a strong deal pipeline, we are increasingly optimistic as we close out the year," CEO Andy Marsh said in a statement. "This momentum in our pipeline also bodes well as we move into 2019. We are finalizing our fourth quarter delivery schedule and will be able to provide more insight in our upcoming third quarter earnings call.”
The company expects net revenue to be between $161 million to $175 million.
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).
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 recently has been working with FedEx (NYSE: FDX), putting its technology into vans delivering packages to Albany area residents.
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.
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. The company expanded to an additional 38,400-square-foot warehouse in Clifton Park this year, about 15 minutes from its headquarters in Latham.
Marsh has said the company is going to break even during the second half of 2018.
Plug Power's stock was selling up in market trading at $1.95.
Buffalo-based startup developing biotech that could 'prevent a lot of suffering'
Some clarifications of the timing and nature of Garwood Medical Devices products have been made from the original version of this story.
Approximately two million Americans get knee or hip implants each year.
About 50,000 of those people will contract an infection – with bacteria forming a slimy biomass around the implant that is challenging to treat.
Doctors and patients then face a cascade of difficult choices. The artificial implant must be removed, and patients receive antibiotics from four to six weeks. Then they must wait another six to eight weeks before another artificial joint is inserted into their body.
Of those 50,000 people who get infections, about 20 percent endure what Wayne Bacon calls a poor clinical outcome such as a fused joint, amputation or death.
Bacon believes his company can end such widespread suffering. Garwood Medical Devices – founded in 2014 by Bacon and Gregg Gellman – is starting to see the finish line for their Biofilm Disruption Device, which uses technology commercialized out of the University at Buffalo.
The patented, minimally invasive electronic device uses something called "cathodic voltage" to create conditions unfavorable for biofilm growth and survival. The treatment allows body’s natural immune response, with the help of antibiotics, to fight off the infection.
Garwood leaders expect to spend next year finalizing development, talking to commercial partners and navigating the federal regulatory process, with a target of being able to sell the devices, Bacon said.
Garwood is set up as a biotechnology development shop, with a variety of research partners and an internal laboratory at its headquarters in the UB’s Gateway Building in downtown Buffalo. Bacon said there may be a day when the company can advance technologies through its own infrastructure, but for now major companies are expected to support the manufacturing and distribution processes.
It’s not the only iron Garwood has in the fire:
The company expects to fully commercialize its EnerAid™ Active Bandage System in the "not so distant future," according to Gellman. The product aims to decrease patient visits by allowing clinical care both at the hospital and at home.
A third product under development is a self-calibrating PH circuit, which Garwood and UB are co-developing under a university Center for Advanced Technology Grant. Both entities are contributing $54,000 for further development. A fourth involves a $1 million federal grant between partners UB, Garwood and Intel to investigate a technology that is capable of spotting cancer biomarkers from a blood sample.
Bacon said the company is currently raising a $3 million Series B round to which $1.8 million has been committed, which is expected to close this year. They are raising the round on a $20 million pre-money valuation. Sixteen of the 19 local investors from the company’s Series A round (on a $10 million pre-money valuation) are contributing again.
Garwood is among 13 local startups that have acknowledged private, growth-oriented financing this year. The list includes ACV Auctions ($31 million), PostProcess Technologies ($7.8 million), Viridi Parente ($4.05 million), CleanFiber ($6.46 million raised this year), Circuit Clinical ($1.75 million), Drone Energy ($1 million), Ru’s Pierogi ($1 million), 3AM Innovations ($1 million), Buffalo Automation ($900,000), EcoVerde ($450,000), RepHike ($195,000) and OmniSeq
(undisclosed).
STATE ADVANCED ROBOTICS ALLIANCE HOLDS FIRST WORKING-GROUP MEETING AT TECH GARDEN
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Leaders in manufacturing and technology from across New York gathered Monday and Tuesday at the Tech Garden in the first meeting of a new working group focused on advanced robotics within manufacturing.
The New York State Advanced Robotics Alliance (NYS-ARA), which several organizations recently formed, leads the working group.
The group’s ultimate goal is to “strengthen the future” for New York manufacturers by helping them implement “solutions that unite the capabilities of advanced robotics with the power of uniquely human skillsets and ingenuity,” according to a news release about the meeting.
The NYS-ARA is encouraging manufacturers, innovators, industry stakeholders, economic developers and government officials to join the working group at the Tech Garden.
NYS-ARA wants to establish a “thriving advanced robotics ecosystem that supports the success” of manufacturers and drives economic growth. It is aligned with the Advanced Robotics Manufacturing Institute of New York (ARM-NY), the state’s affiliate of the national ARM Institute.
“New innovations in advanced robotics and automation have the potential to accelerate the growth of New York State manufacturers,” Elena Garuc, executive director of FuzeHub, said. “With the support of the new working group, the New York State Advanced Robotics Alliance will identify industry challenges and develop solutions to help manufacturers gain competitive advantage and capitalize on new economic opportunities that preserve and create jobs.”
FuzeHub is an Albany–based nonprofit organization responsible for assisting small to medium-sized manufacturing companies in New York.
The NYS-ARA advisory board includes FuzeHub; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Center for Automation Technologies & Systems (RPI CATS); Schenectady–based Applied Robotics Inc.; Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW); Albany–based Workforce Development Institute; and Albany–based IEEE GlobalSpec.
RPI CATS and FuzeHub co-lead ARM-NY and NYS-ARA, per the news release.
FuzeHub is the statewide center for the New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NY MEP), which serves as a “one-stop shop for manufacturers needing assistance to become more competitive, innovate and grow.” It connects manufacturing firms to the resources, programs and experts they need to “create and retain jobs, increase profits and save time and money.”
RPI CATS has staff and faculty experienced in assisting industrial clients with advanced robotics and automation. Its facilities include a robotics lab and high-bay geared for industrial research and development.
Together, the two lead organizations will work to provide manufacturers with advanced-robotics services, while also working with partners to address regional needs, provide workforce training, and facilitate innovation.
STATE ADVANCED ROBOTICS ALLIANCE HOLDS FIRST WORKING-GROUP MEETING AT TECH GARDEN
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Leaders in manufacturing and technology from across New York gathered Monday and Tuesday at the Tech Garden in the first meeting of a new working group focused on advanced robotics within manufacturing.
The New York State Advanced Robotics Alliance (NYS-ARA), which several organizations recently formed, leads the working group.
The group’s ultimate goal is to “strengthen the future†for New York manufacturers by helping them implement “solutions that unite the capabilities of advanced robotics with the power of uniquely human skillsets and ingenuity,†according to a news release about the meeting.
The NYS-ARA is encouraging manufacturers, innovators, industry stakeholders, economic developers and government officials to join the working group at the Tech Garden.
NYS-ARA wants to establish a “thriving advanced robotics ecosystem that supports the success†of manufacturers and drives economic growth. It is aligned with the Advanced Robotics Manufacturing Institute of New York (ARM-NY), the state’s affiliate of the national ARM Institute.
“New innovations in advanced robotics and automation have the potential to accelerate the growth of New York State manufacturers,†Elena Garuc, executive director of FuzeHub, said. “With the support of the new working group, the New York State Advanced Robotics Alliance will identify industry challenges and develop solutions to help manufacturers gain competitive advantage and capitalize on new economic opportunities that preserve and create jobs.â€
FuzeHub is an Albany–based nonprofit organization responsible for assisting small to medium-sized manufacturing companies in New York.
The NYS-ARA advisory board includes FuzeHub; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Center for Automation Technologies & Systems (RPI CATS); Schenectady–based Applied Robotics Inc.; Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW); Albany–based Workforce Development Institute; and Albany–based IEEE GlobalSpec.
RPI CATS and FuzeHub co-lead ARM-NY and NYS-ARA, per the news release.
FuzeHub is the statewide center for the New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NY MEP), which serves as a “one-stop shop for manufacturers needing assistance to become more competitive, innovate and grow.†It connects manufacturing firms to the resources, programs and experts they need to “create and retain jobs, increase profits and save time and money.â€
RPI CATS has staff and faculty experienced in assisting industrial clients with advanced robotics and automation. Its facilities include a robotics lab and high-bay geared for industrial research and development.
Together, the two lead organizations will work to provide manufacturers with advanced-robotics services, while also working with partners to address regional needs, provide workforce training, and facilitate innovation.
NEW YORK HOME SALES DECLINE IN SEPTEMBER, CNY NUMBERS MOSTLY DOWN
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York realtors sold nearly 10,700 previously-owned homes in September, down about 11 percent from more than 12,000 homes sold in September 2017.
A drop in the number of homes available for sale contributed to the sales decline, according to the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR)’s September housing-market report.
Sales data
As the housing supply tightened, home prices rose. The September 2018 statewide median sales price jumped to $270,000, up 8 percent from the September 2017 median of $250,000, according to the NYSAR data.
Pending sales totaled more than 10,300 homes in September, a decrease of 5.8 percent from a year ago.
The number of homes for sale in New York state totaled 72,288 in September, a decrease of 2.5 percent from September 2017.
The months’ supply of homes for sale dropped 3 percent at the end of September to 6.4 months’ supply. It stood at 6.6 months at the end of September 2017. A 6 month to 6.5 month supply is considered to be a balanced market, NYSAR says.
Central New York data
Realtors in Broome County sold 156 existing homes in September, up about 22 percent from 128 a year ago, according to the NYSAR report. The median sales price increased about 9 percent to nearly $120,000 from $110,000 a year ago.
In Jefferson County, realtors closed on 104 homes in September, down about 15 percent from 122 a year earlier, and the median sales price fell 2 percent to $137,000 from nearly $140,000 in September 2017, according to the NYSAR data.
The association also reports that realtors sold 194 homes in Oneida County last month, down about 13 percent from 224 sold during September 2017. The median sales price fell 3 percent to $127,000 from $131,000 a year ago.
Realtors in Onondaga County sold 440 previously owned homes in September, a sales decrease of about 10 percent from the September 2017 total of 486. The median sales price rose 1.3 percent to $151,000, up from $149,000 a year ago, according to the NYSAR report.
All home-sales data is compiled from multiple-listing services in New York state and it includes townhomes and condominiums in addition to existing single-family homes, according to NYSAR.
The debate between New York gubernatorial candidates Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Marc Molinaro did not address many issues facing upstate New Yorkers.
"This is the second debate now in this whole campaign that's been televised across the state, and it's the second debate where we really had no discussion about upstate economic troubles," said Michael Kracker, executive director of Unshackle Upstate.
Cuomo, the incumbent governor, debated actress Cynthia Nixon in August ahead of the Democratic primary. That debate did not feature much discussion about upstate either.
Cuomo and Molinaro were asked Tuesday whether the state should provide money to build a new Buffalo Bills stadium. Kracker says that wasn't enough.
"I don't think a new Bills stadium ranks in the top 10 or even top 20 issues plaguing upstate," Kracker said.
Kracker believes the debate was a missed opportunity to touch on economic development upstate, given it may be the only debate held before the Nov. 6 election. His organization represents upstate businesses' interests before the state.
The candidates did talk about single-payer health care, an issue relevant to upstate business owners.
Molinaro says it's too expensive. A recent study found the proposed single-payer system could cost $139 billion in 2022, almost doubling the state’s budget.
"New York cannot afford this program, not to mention the state of New York has a hard enough time getting the trains to run effectively in the city," Molinaro said. "To put the governor or the state government in charge of health care would be frightening."
Cuomo did not address single-payer directly in his response. He instead said Molinaro voted against the state's health care exchange when Molinaro was in the state Assembly.
"He's with Mr. Trump. [He thinks] there should only be health care for rich people," Cuomo said.
As of Oct. 1, Cuomo was polling ahead of Molinaro, 50 to 28 percent, in a Siena College survey.
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