Small businesses in the Buffalo area should be ready to capitalize on growth opportunities in the semiconductor sector, a leading business advocate said.
"You've got a lot of small startup companies working in (areas) like silicon carbide development materials that go into the manufacturing of chips," said Heather Mulligan, the president and CEO of the Business Council of New York State. "We didn't have that 10 years ago. And these companies, when they grow, we will be able to repatriate chip production in the U.S., which is something we really lost our foothold on over the years."
Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse have teamed up to support development of the semiconductor industry along the I-90 corridor, winning designation as a "tech hub" by the federal government. The three-region territory will receive $48 million in combined federal and state funding to support their work, which is just getting started.
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Mulligan called the tech hub "hugely important" for upstate New York. She recalled that years ago, there was skepticism surrounding the ability to land a project the size of GlobalFoundries in the Albany area. But that project came to fruition.
"These are very, very good paying jobs, not all of which require a Ph.D.," Mulligan said. "Many of them (require an) associate degree or certificate, (with) really good compensation."
What about the workforce needed for the projected growth?
"We're going to have to grow our workforce, but we have a very relatively low workforce participation rate, so we're going to need all hands on deck," Mulligan said. "We need to get people who have stepped out of the workforce to come back."
That includes educating people who didn't have the means to get higher education, and bringing into the workforce people who are coming out of incarceration, leaving the military, and those who have been underemployed, including disabled people, Mulligan said.
Mulligan and other Business Council representatives recently visited the Buffalo area as part of a statewide, 900-mile bus tour to highlight manufacturing's impact on the state's economy. The bus made stops at Mollenberg-Betz, a mechanical contractor in Buffalo, and Confer Plastics, a North Tonawanda-based manufacturer.
Mulligan highlighted two issues she described as pressing matters for manufacturers:
* Unemployment insurance trust fund. The state borrowed billions of dollars from the federal government to cover the cost of jobless claims that soared during the pandemic.
The business community has long argued that businesses shouldn't be forced to pick up the tab, since many of them were forced to shut down or restrict their activities when the pandemic struck.
"Businesses are paying both the regular rates at the highest level and additional payments to pay back the debt that was incurred during the pandemic at the direction of the state," Mulligan said.
* Pace of the state's climate law. "The timeline is very challenging," Mulligan said. "For companies that really need high heat processes, electricity often can't provide that, and you have to plan for replacing equipment and that kind of thing. So understanding how they'll be able to continue to operate under the sort of the new paradigm is probably one of the biggest challenges facing manufacturing state."
Kujawa named Invest Buffalo Niagara chair
Invest Buffalo Niagara, the economic development organization representing eight counties, has named Ken Kujawa of National Grid as chair of its board of directors.
Kujawa serves as the utility's regional director. He was elected to serve a two-year term as chairman of Invest Buffalo Niagara.
Kujawa succeeds Doug Dimitroff, managing partner at Phillips Lytle, who served as chairman for four years.
Partnership attracts flood of micro businesses
The Buffalo Niagara Partnership has far exceeded its goal to attract the smallest of small businesses to its organization.
Back in May, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership kicked off BNP Pro Free, offering free membership to businesses with five or fewer employees. The idea was to remove a barrier for them to get involved, since businesses of that size would normally have to pay $480 annually.
The region's largest business group also offered free membership to locally owned and operated restaurants of any size.
At the time of the launch, Partnership president and CEO Dottie Gallagher said she hoped a couple hundred businesses might sign up.
As of earlier this month, 337 small businesses and restaurants had signed up through BNP Pro Free, said Grant Loomis, the Partnership's chief operating officer.
"We're completely thrilled with the response we've had from small businesses across the region," he said.
A handful of locally owned restaurants signed up, but the vast majority of the members who joined through BNP Pro Free are micro businesses.
"We feel their engagement with us strengthens the Partnership as an organization," Loomis said.
National Grid is supporting the initiative with a $25,000 grant.
Want to know more? Three stories to catch you up:
Upstate's semiconductor push gets $11 million boost
Tech hub could serve as model for other industries
Building up the trades with new talent
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ICYMI
Five reads from Buffalo Next:
1. The food industry across Western New York has a growing hunger for additional workers.
2. The construction of the new Buffalo Bills stadium is reaching new heights.
3. Hiring picked up during September, but the region's job market still is stuck in the doldrums.
4. Cannabis growers have gone through the highs and lows of the legal cannabis market.
5. An East Side business accelerator looks for ways to just get things done.
The Buffalo Next team gives you the big picture on the region's economic revitalization. Email tips to [email protected] or reach Buffalo Next Editor David Robinson at 716-849-4435.
Email tips to [email protected].
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