Kemper Systems
Industry: Advanced Manufacturing
Jobs: 30
Investment: $3,336,600
Company Overview:
Kemper System, a German-based manufacturer of Kemperol, a liquid resin based waterproofing and surfacing system, sought to establish a North American-based production headquarters to increase its competitiveness in the U.S. market. Location, specifically market access, was crucial in their site location decision as Kemper desired to significantly shorten the eight-week lead time to ship product from Europe to the United States. The company also wanted to be close to their large customer base in the U.S. Northeast.
Kemper required a move-in ready site and a competitive incentive package as they were also considering Florida and North Carolina. Furthermore, the availability and cost of the local workforce was a key factor in the decision-making process. The company requested detailed labor statistics to familiarize itself with the availability and cost of labor in Buffalo Niagara.
Project Solution:
Invest Buffalo Niagara (InBN) worked closely with Kemper System to detail Buffalo Niagara’s bi-national market access and ensure the company had an accurate picture of labor wages and availability. A key piece of that was InBN facilitating discussions between Kemper and the NYS Department of Labor. This connection proved extremely valuable during the hiring process as the Department of Labor assisted with job placement, establishing appropriate pay ranges to attract talent, and helping the company connect with workers recently laid off by a local company. Working with a local realtor, Kemper purchased an appropriate site for its project, a 4,180 square meter vacant plant in West Seneca. Through connections made by InBN, Kemper worked with local economic development partners and New York State to secure incentives for their project and cement their decision to locate in Western New York. Kemper will create 12 new jobs and invest over $3.3 million as it begins production.