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Inficon Expansion in E. Syracuse Nearly Complete; Lt. Gov. Hochul Pays a Visit

Scott Willis, WAER News

  The nearly 19 million dollar expansion of Inficon’sfacility in East Syracuse is entering its final stages.  Motorists passing by on I-481 have probably noticed the progress over the past several months.  President Steve Maier  says the high-tech company says the decision to expand was based on growth potential after almost 25 years at their current location.

" We have quadrupled sales in that time-frame, so it was time for us to either expand here or somewhere else. Of course we prefer to do it here. Really it was a story about whether we could expand and where we would do that." 

Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul stopped by Inficon on Wednesday afternoon for a tour. 

Credit Scott Willis / WAER News
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WAER News
Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul toured Inficon's facilty with its President Steve Maier

" We understand in this global economy they could be anywhere.  This company has operations all over the world.  They have customers all over the world,  in-fact a majority of their customers are outside the United States. I want to help change that. I want to make sure US businesses appreciate that this is a home grown company. We want to make sure they stay for a very long time"

The state does have some money on the table for the project, about 2.5 million dollars worth in tax relief and grants.  Hochul says the governor’s office is laser-focused on revitalizing upstate after decades of neglect, something she witnessed earlier in her political career in the Buffalo area when her own children and siblings left for better opportunities.

"Now there is an opportunity to have young people who are educated here, find a life here, build a home here, stay in the community  where they want to because the jobs are finally here. That is what so exciting that Upstate New York has really become a home for technology and innovation. I don't think that was our reputation before, but it certainly is now is with like companies such as Inficon. I think that people go by these facilities and have no idea of the cutting edge technology that's developed here."

After her stop at Inficon, Hochul visited high-tech software company Terakeet downtown. Earlier this week she was at Anheuser-Busch in Baldwinsville.  

Credit Scott Willis / WAER News
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WAER News
A wider view of the $19 million addition at Inficon. They plan to have a ribbon cutting this fall.

Scott Willis covers politics, local government, transportation, and arts and culture for WAER. He came to Syracuse from Detroit in 2001, where he began his career in radio as an intern and freelance reporter. Scott is honored and privileged to bring the day’s news and in-depth feature reporting to WAER’s dedicated and generous listeners. You can find him on twitter @swillisWAER and email him at srwillis@syr.edu.