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Observer-Dispatch
tparrish@utica.gannett.com
LITTLE FALLS - As manufacturing companies have fled the Mohawk Valley and Upstate New York over the last two decades, Empire Fibreglass Products Inc. is doing its best to buck the trend.
The 45-year-old company that began as a custom fabricator of corrosion-resistant products is shifting into different product areas and expanding its staff and working space to keep up, Vice President Neil F. Baum said.
"We're a small business that's, right now, really growing," said Baum, whose father Albert N. Baum incorporated Empire Fibreglass in 1961.
Neil Baum's brother, Thomas, is president of the company.
Empire Fibreglass' growth and business diversification led Mohawk Valley EDGE, an economic development organization based in Rome, to select the company as one of five winners of 2006 Leading EDGE Awards in May.
Growing company
In the last two years, the company has increased its staff by about 75 percent - recently adding nine employees to the night shift - for a total of 44. Finding itself outgrowing its 18,000 square feet of space in the Riverside Industrial Park, the company has purchased a 27,000-square-foot building next door.
That space will be used primarily for the company's shift from a "spray-on" production process to a "vacuum fusion light resin transfer molding" process to make molds for acoustic deflector panels for sound control.
"It's a cleaner process. It's a more environmentally friendly process," Neil Baum said. "Possibly, you know, it's more productive."
Four years ago, Empire Fibreglass secured a contract to provide fiberglass wall panels for a new train station at the site of the World Trade Center. The contract led to the creation of a new division for the company, which also ventured into creating marina dock boxes in 2004.
Stormy business climate
New York state's difficult business climate, including high taxes and health insurance costs and strict workers compensation regulations, make business challenging, said Neil Baum, who referred to several local manufacturing companies, such as LaSalle Laboratories and Chicago Pneumatic Tool Company, that have left New York for southern states.
"We're doing quite a bit of our work outside of New York state right now," Baum said.
Nevertheless, the company is intent on remaining locally based, he said.
EMPIRE FIBREGLASS PRODUCTS INC.
--Location: Riverside Industrial Park, Little Falls.
--Phone: 823-4030.
--Web site: www.empirefibreglas s.com.
--What they do: Incorporated in 1961, Empire Fibreglass Products Inc. began as a custom fabricator of corrosion resistant products, such as chemical storage tanks, fish tanks and exhaust systems. The company has diversified its product lines by adding marina dock boxes and acoustic deflector panels for sound control.
Among key dates for Empire Fibreglass
1961 - Empire Fibreglass Products Incorporated: Plating tanks, exhaust ducting, canoes.
1971 - New facility: Chemical tanks, exhaust systems, custom corrosion process equipment.
1986 -Building expansion: Scrubbers, stacks, tractor trailer air shields among new business.
1996 - Professional personnel expansion: Waste water treatment, grating among new business.
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