ABOUT US
We Exist to Help Prosper
Buffalo Niagara
Invest Buffalo Niagara is the region’s nonprofit, privately funded economic development organization representing the eight counties of Western New York.
Our mission is to attract new employers to the Buffalo Niagara region; to support business attraction, expansion, and entrepreneurship. To do so, Invest Buffalo Niagara collaborates with existing local businesses, colleges and universities, nonprofit organizations, and elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels to deliver a unified response to regional economic development opportunities.
The team of professional economic development consultants at Invest Buffalo Niagara provides free and confidential services to companies considering the Buffalo Niagara region, particularly for the first time.
Our Investors
Shaping the Future of Business
Our Partners
Invest Buffalo Niagara's Key Partners
Great partners make all the difference. And we’ve got some that really shine. Their efforts are critical to sustaining our local economy.
New York State Economic Development
Local Economic & Industrial Development Agencies
Development Corporations
Workforce Development
Economic Development Associations
Visitor and Convention Bureaus
Our Impact
Transforming the Business Landscape
- Custom site location assistance
- Detailed site/building information
- Labor market analysis and demographics
- Tailored market research
- Facilitation of state and local incentive programming
- Personal community and site tours
- Introductions to professional service providers and partners
- Meetings with community and business leaders
- Assistance with workforce and recruitment training needs
Wins & Success Stories
See of our clients wins & success stories!
Success Story
Kyklo
Kyklo is a software as a service company that helps businesses build their cloud marketplace sales, specifically in the industrial sector. The company is based in Thailand and was looking for a location for their U.S. based headquarters in 2019. Decision makers started with a list of nine U.S. metro areas including Brooklyn, Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Denver, Nashville, Raleigh, Tampa, and Buffalo. The company prioritized locations that had access to a talented and skilled workforce, desirable office location options, and an affordable business climate.
Success Story
Patient Pattern
Patient Pattern is a healthcare start-up company that was originally founded in western Connecticut where it operated virtually. The company has developed a web-based application to alleviate the growing complexity in navigating the health care system and diagnosing and assessing geriatric needs, for elderly patients. Patient Pattern’s software gives doctors, home health care providers, health care advocates, family members, and patients themselves a platform to develop highly customized and comprehensive care plans, resulting in greater control and optimal outcomes. Patients, with input from medical professionals and caregivers, undertake a validated assessment through a smart survey. The end product results in a comprehensive care plan that summarizes the patient’s current situation, tracks progress or decline and delivers recommendations along the way to improve decision-making and preparedness.
Patient Pattern provides their services to local care management companies, post-acute care programs, hospitals and home care agencies to help them understand how to best care for their complex patients.
Success Story
FroggaBio
FroggaBio is a Toronto-based leading distributor of laboratory products, supply instruments, reagents, and disposables. FroggaBio serves customers within academic and industrial research institutes, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and hospitals. Company leadership originally considered a U.S. expansion in 2013 and they began engaging with Invest Buffalo Niagara (InBN). At that time, the company incorporated in the US, but decided not to pursue its own bricks and mortar location.
Success Story
New Flyer
New Flyer is the largest manufacturer of heavy-duty transit buses in North America with 3,800 employees and thirteen facilities across the U.S. and Canada. As part of the capital plan to upgrade public transportation in the New York City area, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) awarded New Flyer a contract to refresh the entire system’s bus fleet. The contract required a portion of the final product be manufactured in New York State.
Instead of contracting the work, New Flyer decided to establish a manufacturing facility in the State to build transmission and axle sub-assemblies. These high-value parts would then be shipped to St. Cloud, MN for final assembly. To minimize costs associated with shipping parts to the Midwest, the New Flyer facilities team wanted an assembly plant as far west in NYS as possible. By locating in the most southwestern area of the state, the company determined it can save at least $250 per truckload in shipping costs to Minnesota.
Success Story
TexWeb, Inc.
Petrolift Inc. is based in Cairo, Egypt and is a leading manufacturer of web slings and lifts for industrial applications in the oil & gas industry. Petrolift has been operating in Cairo since 1999, and holds a number of existing customers in the United States and Canada. The Majority of its customers are based in Houston, Texas and Calgary and Alberta, Canada.
After 15 years of successful business in Cairo, Petrolift wanted to expand its manufacturing operation into the U.S. marketplace under a new subsidiary, TexWeb, Inc.
Success Story
Larkin Express Logistics
Larkin Express Logistics is a startup third party logistics (3PL) company, providing traditional 3PL logistics services, focused primarily on connecting shippers with carriers (truck owners). The team in Buffalo will include business development, operations, and account management professionals. The Larkin Express Logistics equity holders have experience starting and growing 3PL companies in the past. Several of the project decision makers are based in Knoxville, Tennessee, which was strongly considered for the company’s location. However, Buffalo Niagara’s talented and dedicated workforce helped convince decision makers that the project should be in Buffalo. The company has leased 2,500 square feet of office space in the City of Buffalo and expects to hire over 50 people.
Our Team
Meet the Invest Buffalo Niagara Team
Our staff brings a wide range of expertise in business development, client service, real estate, finance, research, marketing, event planning, graphic design, and public and investor relations. We are hiring a Business Development Manager – join our team!
Thomas Kucharski
President & CEO
“This is a region where life works both professionally and personally. The quality of life and the people are unmatched by any others I’ve experienced elsewhere. And where else could I have sailed in the morning, played golf in the afternoon and skied in the evening – all in the same day?”
Thomas Kucharski
President & CEO
Erin Sinclair
Senior Administrator
Before joining the Invest Buffalo Niagara team, she worked as an administrative assistant for a real estate company. Outside of work, Erin coaches’ soccer to children aged three to six years old. She also plays rec soccer for a local team. Erin enjoys checking out the Buffalo food scene as well as going to Buffalo Bills games.
Erin Sinclair
Senior Administrator
Matthew Hubacher
Sr. Vice President
Before joining Invest Buffalo Niagara, Matthew worked on Capitol Hill as a Legislative Assistant for U.S. Congressman Tom Latham for five years. Matthew holds a master’s in Education Policy from the University of Maryland-College Park and a bachelor’s in Secondary Education from Niagara University. He lives in Clarence Center with his wife and three daughters and is active in his community, most notably serving on the Board of Directors of the Clarence Girls Softball League.
“My life works where I was born and raised. I’m proud to be from Buffalo Niagara, a region that has all of the attractions of a large metropolitan area without the exorbitant cost of living. I moved from the region after college and returning home and being close to family and friends was a dream come true.”
Matthew Hubacher
Sr. Vice President
Rob Leteste
Bus. Intelligence & Workforce Mgmt.
Rob was brought to UB to coordinate the Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics & Life Sciences’ NYSTAR Center for Advance Technology (CAT) and STARTUP NY programs. In this role, he supported entrepreneurs and business leaders to convert innovation and incentives into economic opportunity. With these new opportunities top of mind, Rob was recruited to SUNY Erie to manage multiple Career & Technical Education grants which funded curricula updates to better prepare students for work.
In recent years, Rob has pursued extensive training in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This education began with programming sponsored by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, and was expanded upon with his participation in the national Education Pioneers fellowship. Rob holds a strong belief that an equitable community will expand the economic prosperity in every corner of WNY.
Rob received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Economics from UB in 2009. He also completed his master’s degree in Education from UB. He is an alum of Americorps and Education Pioneers. Rob calls Buffalo’s Elmwood Village home, and is a fond patron of its many cafes.
Rob Leteste
Bus. Intelligence & Workforce Mgmt.
Sarah Larson
Brand & Creative Director
Sarah first joined InBN as the organizations Senior Graphic Designer and Website Manager, before earning the privilege of leading a talented, three-person marketing department, its operations, budget, and effectiveness as Marketing Manager. Before joining InBN in 2004, Sarah spent more than five years as a Graphic Designer at WKBW-TV.
Sarah has a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the Rochester Institute of Technology. She channels her creative energy as well as her passion for education and children through volunteerism. Sarah has spent many years serving her local Parent Teacher Organization board, the towns Baseball and Softball board, coaching travel softball, teaching religious education, and serving on the Ralph C. Wilson Explore & More Children’s Museum board. When not working or volunteering, Sarah can be found spending quality time with her husband and three children.
Sarah Larson
Brand & Creative Director
Greg Pokriki
Communications Manager
Greg Pokriki
Communications Manager
Carlton X. Sanders
Graphic Designer
Before joining Invest Buffalo Niagara Carlton worked for one of the top companies in consumer-based technology. He used his technical knowledge and friendly demeanor to achieve high customer satisfaction year-round.
Being a Buffalo native, he deeply loves and appreciates his community. Carlton enjoys Buffalo’s coffee shops and local comic stores in his free time. He also is a big supporter of Buffalo’s live music scene.
Carlton X. Sanders
Graphic Designer
The Invest Buffalo Niagara Board of Directors
Officers
President & CEO
Thomas A. Kucharski, Invest Buffalo Niagara
Chair
Kenneth Kujawa, National Grid
Vice Chair
Michael O’Brien, Key Bank, N.A.
Secretary
Becky Gandour, Buffalo Urban Development Corporation
Treasurer
Dave Bauer, National Fuel
Board of Directors
AAA Western and Central New York
Anthony Spada, Jr.
Acara Solutions Inc.
Pete Petrella
Allegany County Industrial Development Agency
Craig Clark
Amherst Industrial Development Agency
David Mingoia
Buffalo Niagara Partnership
Dottie Gallagher
Buffalo Business First
John Tebeau
Buffalo Urban Development Corporation
Becky Gandour
Buffalo News
Tom Wiley
Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency
Mark Geise
City of Buffalo
Mayor Byron W. Brown
Ciminelli Real Estate
Kyle Ciminelli
Clarence IDA
Chris Kempton
Delaware North Companies
James Obletz
Exxpress Tire
David Simons
Erie County IDA
Tuona Batchelor
Erie County Industrial Development Agency
John Cappellino
Ernst & Young
Marc Izzo
Frey Electric Construction Co
Kent Frey
Genesee County Economic Development Center
Mark Masse
Hamburg IDA
Sean Doyle
Harter Secrest & Emery LLP
Phil Delmont
Hodgson Russ LLP
Benjamin Zuffranieri Jr.
HSBC Bank
Gregory Duval
Hunt Real Estate
Peter Hunt
Hurwitz & Fine, P.C.
Kevin Zanner
Independent Health
Richard Argentieri
Key Bank, N.A.
Michael O’Brien
Lockport Industrial Development Agency
Thomas Sy
Martin Group
Matt Davison
Merchant Insurance
Charlie Makey
M&T Bank Corporation
Chris Kania
National Fuel Gas Company
David Bauer
National Grid
Kenneth Kujawa
Niagara County Department of Economic Development
Michael Casale
New York Power Authority
Joseph Kessler
NYSEG Corporation
Chris Knospe
Phillips Lytle LLP
Douglas W. Dimitroff
Schutte Buffalo
Martin Berardi
Sonwil Distribution
Peter Wilson
TM Montante Development
Christian Campos
Tops Friendly Markets
John Persons
Uniland Development Company
Carl Montante, Jr.
Univera Healthcare
Arthur Wingerter
West Herr Auto Group
Scott Bieler
WNY NYSCAR
Carolyn Casilio
Wyoming County IDA
James Pierce
Appointed Directors
Empire State Development Corporation
Karen Utz
State University of New York at Buffalo
Tracy Krawczyk-Scheidel
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