Business Council visits Norsk Titanium in Plattsburgh during tour to promote manufacturing in New York

Staff from the Business Council of New York have been visiting manufacturing facilities across the state. Among the stops was the Norsk Titanium plant in Plattsburgh.

The bus tour stopped in eight cities and facilities across five regions of New York. In the North Country stops were at Agri-Mark in Chateaugay and Norsk Titanium in Plattsburgh. Norsk manufactures titanium components for the aerospace and semiconductor industry and currently has contracts with Boeing, Airbus and the U.S. Defense Department.

Norsk Vice President of Operations Stephen Eaton hoped the visit would lead to more opportunities.

“This has been a great visit for us. We spoke about the future of Norsk Titanium and how we can continue to partner with the state of New York to build a brighter future and continue to add jobs here in the North Country,” Eaton said. “We’ll be looking for outreach and opportunities to meet with other companies and organizations inside of the state of New York as we continue to grow as an organization. We have 63 employees in Plattsburgh. In total we’re a company of 140 people. When we’re reaching out to much larger organizations than ourselves looking for opportunities to grow as an organization it is very helpful to have the backing and the support of the state of New York helping us with that outreach, helping open up a few doors so we can help share our story and again just continue to foster and allow us to grow as an organization.”

Republican Clinton County Legislature Chair Mark Henry emphasized the goal of the bus tour is to promote awareness of manufacturing in communities.

“It’s always nice to come to any of the businesses in the North Country and see what they do and how they do it and where it affects, not just the North Country, but the entire United States and in some cases like this the world. We are fortunate to have companies like this here,” Henry said. “We are fortunate to have the advocacy of organizations like the Business Council because it’s a lot about networking and advocacy. And we certainly support that and will work hard to ensure that our businesses, Norsk and all others, receive the support that they deserve and need from elected officials, from county, state, national. It benefits all of us here in the North Country.”

Business Council President and CEO Heather Mulligan said the goal of the tour is to raise awareness about the diversity of manufacturing and its importance to the state’s economy.

“These are great jobs. They’re high paying jobs. We’re in a competition with the rest of the world and in fact other parts of this country,” noted Mulligan. “And to the extent that New York has challenges, we want to hear about them so that we can help make this a more business friendly place particularly for manufacturing. This really is one of the strongest regions in the country for advanced manufacturing and I want to make sure that everybody who is making policy in this state is aware of it and really does everything in their power to continue growth.”

State Senator Dan Stec, a Republican representing the 45th District, said the Business Council is a leading advocacy group that can bring strong messages to Albany about regional manufacturers and their needs.

“Their story and what they learn in their travels around the state I think really rings loud for a lot of people in Albany making decisions as to where to invest or what’s going on or the history of past investments,” Stec said. “And in the North Country this transportation hub that we have here, businesses in the Plattsburgh area, this is a key new one. Cutting edge technology that’s got worldwide applications in all kinds of different fields. So it’s encouraging to see that and again we need to do everything we can to continue to support and grow this. And the Business Council taking time and meeting with businesses that they represent I think is invaluable.”

The Business Council’s tour included stops in Brooklyn, Elmira, Hammondsport, Buffalo, North Tonawanda, Marcy, Chateaugay and Plattsburgh. It coincided with National Manufacturing Week.