Industries
Advanced Manufacturing
Buffalo Niagara is Ideal for Advanced Manufacturing
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Invest Buffalo Niagara Can Assist with your Growth, Free of Charge
Invest Buffalo Niagara has helped nearly 150 manufacturing companies expand or relocate to WNY, joining a cluster of over 1,600 employers including AMDOR, Bridgestone, Plug Power, MedBio, and New Flyer. We can help you grow in Buffalo Niagara too! Explore our resources, then contact us to assist with your project. Our economic development professionals can provide site location assistance, labor market and demographics analysis, market research, facilitate state and local incentive applications, and much more — all confidentially.Â
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Electric Components
Supporting Electronic Component Companies
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Semiconductor Manufacturers
Semiconductor Supply Chain Opportunities
Buffalo Niagara’s extensive heritage in the manufacturing industry, strategic location on the Canadian border, robust infrastructure, growing innovation ecosystem, and status as a federally designated Tech Hub are drawing global semiconductor fabricators and suppliers. Companies are drawn to the region’s affordable and reliable energy, skilled workforce, access to water, and strong university partnerships.
Statewide, New York State is home to more than 150 semiconductor and supply chain companies. In the last two years, companies have announced over $112 billion in planned semiconductor related capital investments in New York – surpassing any other state. And, the nation’s first National Semiconductor Technology Center at NY CREATES will be supported by an $825 million federal investment.
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MEDICAL DEVICE MANUFACTURERS
Prime Location for Growing Medical Device Companies
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Plastics Manufacturing
Opportunities for Plastics Manufacturing
Buffalo Niagara has regional advantages that are perfectly suited to support plastics manufacturers in their expansion or relocation efforts such as an industrial electric rate 15% below national average. Other advantages include robust incentives like 0% state corporate income tax for manufacturing companies, 0% inventory tax, and 0% sales tax on machinery and equipment. And manufacturers enjoy a 5% refundable investment tax credit on capital expenditures, and 50% credit on eligible training costs, up to $10,000 per employee.
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Sensor Technology Manufacturing
Sensor Technology Companies Enjoy Low Costs
Buffalo Niagara’s robust educational ecosystem makes it an ideal choice for sensor technology manufacturers considering expansion or relocation. With proximity to prestigious engineering schools like the  University at Buffalo, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Rochester, and Alfred University, along with 47 colleges and universities within a 100-mile radius, including 19 in Buffalo Niagara, the region annually produces over 20,000 graduates in fields such as software development, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and electronics.
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Why Buffalo Niagara?
Growing Manufacturing Companies are Thriving in Buffalo Niagara
Advanced Manufacturing companies have a plethora of resources available in our region to help their manufacturing companies grow and evolve.
Sources: US Census Bureau and Statistics Canada (population), Lightcast (establishments and employment), Edison Electric Institute (electric rates), New York State Department of Transportation (multimodal logistics)
Low-Cost Hydropower
Buffalo Niagara's access to low-cost hydropower from the Niagara River is a significant advantage for companies. New York State law  reserves and allocates this hydropower for companies planning to build or expand within the Buffalo Niagara region, providing a competitive edge in energy costs compared to other regions.
Diverse Industrial Base
Buffalo Niagara's diverse industrial base includes electronic components manufacturing, supported by a skilled workforce proficient in fields such as nonferrous and ferroalloy production, semiconductor manufacturing, and forging. This diverse ecosystem attracts companies from across the country seeking to leverage the region's talent pool and robust supply chain.
Strategic Location:
The region boasts seven international points of entry accessible via road, rail, and water. This strategic positioning provides businesses easy access to a vast transportation network encompassing more than 3,600 miles of major interstates, state routes, and local arterials. Additionally, the region has over 1,000 miles of track serving four interstate railroads, one regional railroad, and three short-line railroads, along with a major deep-water port featuring 28 terminals and bulk cargo storage facilities.
Attractive Incentives
Incentives play a crucial role in attracting and supporting businesses in Buffalo Niagara. Programs such as those offered by the New York Power Authority and Empire State Development provide incentives such as low-cost hydropower and tax abatements, empowering companies like MedBio and Viatran to invest in growth and innovation within the region.
Energy Efficiency Support
Programs like ReCharge NY, a signature initiative from the New York Power Authority, provide substantial cost savings for energy-intensive industries such as plastics manufacturing. Companies like Confer Plastics benefit from these initiatives, ensuring cost certainty and competitiveness in the marketplace while promoting sustainability and energy efficiency.
Buffalo Manufacturing Works
Shift 2.0 program through Buffalo Manufacturing Works is one of those great programs designed for small and medium-sized manufacturers. The program tailors solutions to help companies utilize innovative technology to reach their goals.
Resource Guide
Invest Buffalo Niagara has helped 100+ manufacturing companies expand in Buffalo Niagara and is well equipped to assist in your expansion project.
For more information, download our free Advanced Manufacturing Guide, with workforce data, training programs, incentive highlights, support resources, incentive highlights, real estate options, and a business expansion checklist.
Wins & Success Stories
See Buffalo Niagara Success Stories
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
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
MedBio
In August 2020, MedBio – a company headquartered in Michigan – acquired Polymer Conversions, a plastic injection molder operating in Buffalo Niagara. The company was specializing in highly technical medical devices and components with 125 employees. Polymer Conversions (now operating as MedBio Orchard Park, spoiler alert!) needed to expand its footprint and was considering doing so in either Western New York or Michigan.
Incentives: NYPA – Hydropower Allocation, Empire State Development Excelsior Jobs Program, Erie County IDA sales tax abatement
Success Story
NYPPE
The COVID-19 pandemic held a magnifying glass to many problems that already existed within our society and economy, one of those being the dependence on far away supply chains of personal protective equipment (PPE). This equipment – gowns, masks, face shields, etc. – has helped protect our frontline workers throughout the pandemic. As the globe braces for a potential second wave and attempts to safeguard against future crises, the community and local government has placed its attention on the revitalization of domestic manufacturing and supply of PPE.
Success Story
Viatran
Viatran is a subsidiary of a publicly-traded, out-of state parent company, operating as a separate division in the Buffalo Niagara region. Viatran manufactures pressure sensors and transmitters, servicing a wide variety of industries. Viatran manufactures new products and repairs legacy product in a rapid response environment based on lean manufacturing and advanced electronic commerce capabilities. The company’s lease was coming due and at the same time the division was poised for a significant expansion, making their previous facility inadequate for the growing demand. The local leadership team was tasked with conducting a global search for the most appropriate venue to expand their operations, including other corporate facilities with capacity in Massachusetts, Texas, and Malaysia..
Success Story
Surmet Ceramics
Surmet is a Massachusetts-based advanced materials manufacturer with operations in Buffalo. The company produces high-tech transparent ceramic powders and coatings used in aerospace and defense applications. Surmet was investing in new technology and equipment in order to consolidate its forming and heat-treating capabilities into one location where it would produce transparent ceramic windows, lenses and armor. For this expansion of capabilities, space, and workforce, Surmet considered several options including Buffalo Niagara and at its headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts.
Incentives: Empire State Development Excelsior Jobs Tax Credit award, New York Power Authority expansion/retention power allocation, Erie County IDA sales tax abatement
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