Plastics Manufacturing

Why Plastic Manufacturing Companies Choose Buffalo Niagara

Plastic manufacturers like Avanti Advanced Manufacturing Corp., Confer Plastics, Polymer Conversions (now MedBio), and TMP Technologies are thriving in Buffalo Niagara.

Plastics manufacturers from across the country choose Buffalo Niagara in part because of the unique regional benefits and incentives it offers.

For Bob Confer, the president of Confer Plastics, hydroelectric power from the Niagara River is one of the most important regional benefits. The company manufactures pools, spas, kayaks, docks, and more using custom blow molding, a process that requires a great deal of energy to produce the heat needed to melt and mold plastic. They joined the ReCharge NY program, which makes available low-cost hydropower to companies expanding or building in Buffalo Niagara.

“The ReCharge NY program was important for us because we wanted to remain competitive,” Confer said during an interview on our podcast. “That program allows us to cut back on our costs quite significantly. If I look at the savings that we get from ReCharge NY, right now it’s anywhere between $15,000 and $20,000 per year. That is guaranteed to ramp up in the coming years because as the [energy] marketplace here in NYS and elsewhere starts to go to a slightly higher cost in terms of solar and wind, this gives me cost certainty that allows me to better price products to go to market. My savings are going to multiply over time.”

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Sources: Edison Electric Institute (electric rates), US Department of Education (college graduates)