Adirondack1
Member
http://www.uticaod.com/news/x1498099403
By BRYON ACKERMAN
Observer-Dispatch
Posted Apr 20, 2008 @ 11:41 PM
Last update Apr 21, 2008 @ 10:31 AM
ILION —
Remington Arms’ plans to renovate its plant and add jobs could help stabilize the nearly 200-year-old company’s future in the village and also boost economic development throughout the Mohawk Valley, local officials said Sunday.
The Remington Arms plant will add 100 jobs by the end of 2009 and undergo a multi-million-dollar renovation, said Morgan Hook, spokesman for Gov. David A. Paterson’s office.
Empire State Development Corp. will provide a $1.5 million JOBS Now capital grant to the company, and Remington Arms also will invest more than $10 million toward the renovation, Hook said.
This commitment makes state Assemblyman Marc Butler, R-Newport, confident the company will stay in Ilion and thrive there, he said.
More than 1,000 people currently work at the Ilion gun-manufacturing plant, which dates back to the early 1800s.
The investment also will help other local businesses and generate positive feelings about the Mohawk Valley that could draw other companies to the area, he said.
“This could be the break we’ve been looking for,” Butler said. “It could be the start of many good things to follow.”
The state Senate also will be contributing to the funding for Remington, said Duncan Davie, spokesman for state Sen. James Seward, R-Milford.
But Davie wouldn’t provide further details because the parties involved in the deal agreed to wait until today to announce the funding, he said.
Seward will be making an announcement with Remington Arms Plant Manager Joe Gross at 1 p.m. today at the plant. Gross declined to comment Sunday.
‘Time-honored commitment’
The 100 new jobs are being relocated from the Harrington and Richardson Firearms plant in Gardner, Mass., which recently closed, Hook said.
Boosting Remington Arms aligns with Paterson’s goals for improving the economy in Upstate New York, Hook said.
“For almost 200 years, people in the Mohawk Valley have proudly worked for Remington Arms,” Paterson said in a released statement. “The revitalization of Upstate New York is only made stronger when companies that have come to symbolize a region reinforce that time-honored commitment.”
Ilion resident Gary A. Beauharnois, who worked at Remington Arms for two years, said he still has concerns about the local economy, but anything that helps Remington Arms is a good thing.
“If that place ever folds, you might as well make this a ghost town,” he said.
Begins with Remington
Cerberus Capital Management announced in April 2007 it would be acquiring the Madison, N.C.-based Remington Arms Co. Inc. – raising concerns at the time about the Ilion plant’s future.
Ilion Mayor Mark Cushman said he stayed enthusiastic about the new owners. The faith Ilion and the region placed in Remington Arms paid off, he said.
“This is a mayor’s dream,” Cushman said. “When a great company like Remington is able to grow – to put more people, more equipment – in a great community like Ilion, that is what it’s all about. And I can’t tell you how happy I am.”
As “a cornerstone of the local economy,” Remington Arms’ growth will have a significant impact on other businesses in Ilion and the region, Cushman said.
Gas stations, restaurants and smaller businesses that subcontract to do work for Remington Arms are among the businesses that will benefit, Butler said.
When Remington Arms came under new ownership last year, local and state officials were able to tell the owners what the state and Mohawk Valley have to offer, Butler said.
“Whenever that kind of thing happens, everybody gets a little edgy,” he said, “but I think, this time, we did it right.”
State funding also was announced Friday at Fermer Precision in Ilion, and an announcement will be made Tuesday at Fiberdyne Labs Inc. in Frankfort, so the local economy seems to be turning around, Butler said.
And the change begins with Remington, he said.
“I think it’s the best news we’ve had here in the Valley in a long time,” he said.
By BRYON ACKERMAN
Observer-Dispatch
Posted Apr 20, 2008 @ 11:41 PM
Last update Apr 21, 2008 @ 10:31 AM
ILION —
Remington Arms’ plans to renovate its plant and add jobs could help stabilize the nearly 200-year-old company’s future in the village and also boost economic development throughout the Mohawk Valley, local officials said Sunday.
The Remington Arms plant will add 100 jobs by the end of 2009 and undergo a multi-million-dollar renovation, said Morgan Hook, spokesman for Gov. David A. Paterson’s office.
Empire State Development Corp. will provide a $1.5 million JOBS Now capital grant to the company, and Remington Arms also will invest more than $10 million toward the renovation, Hook said.
This commitment makes state Assemblyman Marc Butler, R-Newport, confident the company will stay in Ilion and thrive there, he said.
More than 1,000 people currently work at the Ilion gun-manufacturing plant, which dates back to the early 1800s.
The investment also will help other local businesses and generate positive feelings about the Mohawk Valley that could draw other companies to the area, he said.
“This could be the break we’ve been looking for,” Butler said. “It could be the start of many good things to follow.”
The state Senate also will be contributing to the funding for Remington, said Duncan Davie, spokesman for state Sen. James Seward, R-Milford.
But Davie wouldn’t provide further details because the parties involved in the deal agreed to wait until today to announce the funding, he said.
Seward will be making an announcement with Remington Arms Plant Manager Joe Gross at 1 p.m. today at the plant. Gross declined to comment Sunday.
‘Time-honored commitment’
The 100 new jobs are being relocated from the Harrington and Richardson Firearms plant in Gardner, Mass., which recently closed, Hook said.
Boosting Remington Arms aligns with Paterson’s goals for improving the economy in Upstate New York, Hook said.
“For almost 200 years, people in the Mohawk Valley have proudly worked for Remington Arms,” Paterson said in a released statement. “The revitalization of Upstate New York is only made stronger when companies that have come to symbolize a region reinforce that time-honored commitment.”
Ilion resident Gary A. Beauharnois, who worked at Remington Arms for two years, said he still has concerns about the local economy, but anything that helps Remington Arms is a good thing.
“If that place ever folds, you might as well make this a ghost town,” he said.
Begins with Remington
Cerberus Capital Management announced in April 2007 it would be acquiring the Madison, N.C.-based Remington Arms Co. Inc. – raising concerns at the time about the Ilion plant’s future.
Ilion Mayor Mark Cushman said he stayed enthusiastic about the new owners. The faith Ilion and the region placed in Remington Arms paid off, he said.
“This is a mayor’s dream,” Cushman said. “When a great company like Remington is able to grow – to put more people, more equipment – in a great community like Ilion, that is what it’s all about. And I can’t tell you how happy I am.”
As “a cornerstone of the local economy,” Remington Arms’ growth will have a significant impact on other businesses in Ilion and the region, Cushman said.
Gas stations, restaurants and smaller businesses that subcontract to do work for Remington Arms are among the businesses that will benefit, Butler said.
When Remington Arms came under new ownership last year, local and state officials were able to tell the owners what the state and Mohawk Valley have to offer, Butler said.
“Whenever that kind of thing happens, everybody gets a little edgy,” he said, “but I think, this time, we did it right.”
State funding also was announced Friday at Fermer Precision in Ilion, and an announcement will be made Tuesday at Fiberdyne Labs Inc. in Frankfort, so the local economy seems to be turning around, Butler said.
And the change begins with Remington, he said.
“I think it’s the best news we’ve had here in the Valley in a long time,” he said.
