Grow Your Business
Expand your Business to Buffalo Niagara
Cost-Effective Business Environment
The region provides a cost-effective environment for businesses, highlighted by incentives such as 0% corporate income tax for manufacturers and low-cost reliable hydropower generated from Niagara Falls and the Niagara River. This can lead to significant savings in operational costs, making Buffalo Niagara an economically attractive option for business expansion.
Skilled Workforce
One of Buffalo's well-deserved nicknames is “The City of Good Neighbors." Our people and specifically our workforce is unmatched, and being backfilled by a strong educational infrastructure with 19 colleges and universities. Our workplace attendance rates are high while our turnover rate are below national average.
Strategic Geographic Location
Buffalo Niagara’s strategic location on the Canadian border – including 7 international ports of entry – is within 500 miles (800 km) of 40% of the bi-national population. It is less than a day’s drive to Toronto, New York City, Boston, Chicago, and more
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ADDRESSING YOUR TALENT NEEDS
A Place Where People Want to Live
TOOLKIT
Our resources and services make it easier than ever to expand or relocate your business here.
Invest Buffalo Niagara serves as a single point of entry for economic development inquiries and offers a comprehensive suite of client-driven project management services to companies and consultants evaluating the market area.
Major Employers
You’re in good company. Get to know our leading WNY businesses. As part of your expansion consideration process we can make introductions.
Demographic Analysis
Explore our Buffalo Niagara demographics dashboard plus our Manufacturing and Technology specific data. We can also provide custom data.
Well-education Workforce
Buffalo Niagara benefits from 19 colleges and universities graduating 20,000+ annually. Discover your sources of talent.
Site Selection
Generate property data reports, and search commercial real estate listings. Our team can run a custom search for you and schedule tours.
Incentives
On top of the already low cost of doing business in Buffalo Niagara, the region offers qualifying businesses growing in WNY a number of incentive opportunities. We help companies through the application process.
Service Providers
Our region boasts a robust transportation infrastructure and benefits from strong utility partners who we are happy to introduce you to.
Resource Guide
Your success is our success, we don’t stop until you win!
HOW WE HELP
We've made it simple and painless to expand your business in Buffalo Niagara.
The team of professional economic development consultants at Invest Buffalo Niagara provides free and confidential services to companies considering the Buffalo Niagara region.
Book a Discovery Call
Determine if your company is right for Buffalo Niagara.
Let us Manage your Expansion Project
From research to ribbon cutting -- we’ve got you covered.
Find Success in Buffalo Niagara
Our services don’t end there. Upon expansion or relocation, we’re here to provide connections to hiring agencies, media contacts, and more to help ensure your success.
Key Industries
Discover Thriving Industries in Buffalo Niagara
Business is booming in a region undergoing an all-encompassing renaissance. The region’s diversified and growing economy has been recognized by leading business publications such as Fast Company, Forbes, The New York Times, CNBC, Business Week, and more.
Logistics & Distribution
Buffalo Niagara is a fully operational, integrated center for transshipment, storage, collection, and distribution of goods.
Life Sciences
Buffalo Niagara has long been a hub of innovation in life sciences and health sciences.
Food & Beverage Processing
The Buffalo Niagara region is a cornerstone of New York State’s $3.6 billion agribusiness and food and beverage processing industries.
Advanced Manufacturing
Buffalo Niagara has enjoyed a long history of manufacturing success and is in the midst of a new wave of innovators and builders changing the future of advanced manufacturing.
Advanced Business Services
Invest Buffalo Niagara has assisted more than 60 advanced business services companies expand or startup in the region like Yahoo!, One Touch Direct, AML RightSource, and Rural Sourcing.
Wins & Success Stories
See Buffalo Niagara 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
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
Sparq
Sparq (formally Rural Sourcing) provides outsourced software development services to build, deploy and optimize critical online applications. The company operates eight sites through the United States and was seeking additional market expansion to fulfill current business obligations and capture additional market growth opportunities. The company was interested in investigating a potential region’s IT ecosystem, workforce and higher education, operating costs, and quality of life benefits.
Success Story
Avanti Advanced Manufacturing
Victory Manufacturing is a Canadian injection molding company based in Waterloo, Ontario. Their U.S. expansion, Avanti Advanced Manufacturing, set up shop in Buffalo Niagara in 2011. The new operation manufactures detectable tactiles, construction products, and customized injection molding projects with the capability to go from concept to prototype to end-product with significant speed. Avanti Advanced Manufacturing specializes in mandatory safety installations including raised bump floor warnings for the visually impaired, stair grips and new, glow in the dark exit door signs that last much longer than battery operated versions. The new division started with six injection molding machines and has already expanded to nine. The company has also added sand blasting, powder coat and painting, and laser engraving capabilities, as well as a CNC router.
Success Story
Universal Logistics
Universal Logistics is a third generation, family-owned business established in 1949 with 87 employees and five locations across Canada. Over these 70-plus years, Universal have grown and prospered by delivering innovative logistics solutions while still maintaining a family value approach to caring for their clients. Universal’s complete package of logistics services includes international freight, North American trucking, U.S. and Canadian customs brokerage and warehousing/distribution.
In 2009, Universal’s U.S. sales represented only 3-4% of the company’s overall sales, and they worked through a U.S. partner to provide their U.S. brokerage services. However, it was identified that a significant value-added client need would be met by establishing their own U.S. customs brokerage presence. A U.S. office would enable clients with product imports or exports, either to or from the U.S., to receive a single and trusted source for their U.S. customs brokerage, trucking, and distribution requirements. The solution was to take advantage of one of the two options available at the time: a ground level, start-up operation or an acquisition of a U.S. company. In a stroke of good luck and perfect timing, their existing U.S. partner in Buffalo proposed to sell their company and this created the optimum opportunity to make a fast track, strategic acquisition of an established U.S. customs broker.
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.
Available Commercial Properties
Explore properties in the region
Browse through a range of commercial properties tailored to suit every business need in the thriving Buffalo Niagara region. From modern office spaces to development locations, discover the perfect space to elevate your business and capitalize on the region’s growth opportunities.
Blog
Top stories & updates in the Buffalo Niagara region
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