Governor Kathy Hochul announced that Electrovaya has selected the town of Ellicott as the location for its first U.S. plant. The company will set up operations at the former Heidenhain facility in the Mason Industrial Park.

The publicly traded company will produce lithium-ion batteries for e-forklifts, e-trucks and e-buses. Electrovaya designs, develops and manufactures proprietary lithium-ion batteries, battery systems and battery-related products for energy storage, clean electric transportation and other specialized applications.

Empire State Development provided up to $4 million through the performance-based Excelsior Jobs Tax Credit Program and $2.5 million in Regional Council Capital Funding. In July, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) Board of Trustees approved a more than 1.5-megawatt low-cost hydropower allocation to Jamestown under the Power Authority’s Industrial Economic Development program to meet the increased electric load resulting from Electrovaya’s town of Ellicott expansion.

The initial cost for the facility has been placed at approximately $75 million, and it is expected to open in the fall of 2023.

NACO Enterprises current location on Allen St. in Jamestown. One of two operations run by the Stannard Group.

JAMESTOWN – The Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency will be providing its help to a local business as it moves from the city of Jamestown to the Mason Industrial Park in the town of Ellicott.

The Post Journal says the IDA board Tuesday approved resolutions that provide a 15-year payment in lieu of taxes agreement; sales and mortgage tax abatement; and a $500,000 Al Tech Revolving Loan for the project for the Stannard Group LCC.

The business plans to consolidate its two operations – Weaver Materiel Services and Naco Express – under one roof in a new 26,000 square foot facility in the industrial coordinator of Ellicott, just south of Falconer. Total cost of the project is estimated at $2.885 million.

Deputy County Executive for Economic Development and IDA director Mark Geise said the company will save $924,000 from the IDA benefits, but will have more than a $50 million economic impact on the local community during the next 15 years by keeping the business in the county.

That’s largely due to 36 jobs being retained and three new ones being created once the new building has been constructed.

According to Buffalo Business First, the Heidenhain Corp., an Illinois-based optics and electronics business with location at 1 Precision Way in the Mason Industrial Park in the town of Ellicott, is moving operations to Illinois and Austria.

The company filed a notice with the New York State Department of Labor saying the departure and subsequent layoffs will take place Oct. 1.

It’s the second small manufacturing operation in the Industrial Park to announce its departure in less than a year, with MD Electronics – also located on Precision Way – saying last September it was moving business to Mexico, resulting in 87 local workers being laid off.

Left to right in Photo: Patrick McLaughlin, Town of Ellicott Supervisor; Vince Horrigan, Chautauqua County Executive; Lisa Vanstrom, Chautauqua County Legislator (R-Ellicott, Falconer and Celoron), James Garde, Bush Industries CEO; Neil Frederick, Director of Operational Accounting; Carol Rasmussen, CCIDA Business Development Manager; Diego Sirianni, Economic Development Program Specialist II of Empire State Development; Michele Turner, CCIDA VP Marketing and Richard Dixon, CCIDA CFO.

ELLICOTT – The board of directors for the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA) has a approved the acquisition of 66 acres of land in the town of Ellicott to be used for future business development.

According to a media release from the county executive’s office, the unused land – located on Peck Settlement Road just to the South of Falconer – had previously been owned by Bush Industries and is situated in Mason Industrial Park area.

The property was paid for with a $200,000 grant from Empire State Development (ESD), which is earmarked for infrastructure improvements to enhance shovel ready sites.

The county IDA will work with County officials to develop the property, by creating an access road and put utilities in place, along with other work they say will  make the location shovel-ready.

“The ability to market shovel-ready sites in an established and successful industrial park will allow Chautauqua County to retain growing businesses and attract new ones,” said Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Howard Zemsky.“I am confident, based on past success, that this public investment into the South County Industrial Park will be met by private investment at the employment hub.”

“This was a great opportunity to keep Chautauqua County moving forward,” said Vince Horrigan, Chautauqua County Executive. “I thank Empire State Development, the Chautauqua County Legislature and CCIDA for their efforts in acquiring and developing this parcel. Shovel Ready sites are crucial to attract new businesses to our county and this purchase is positioned for success.”

Once work is completed the site will be marketed by the IDA for prospective businesses.

Among the highlights of the meeting was the approval of a local law that will allow the county to provide more assistance to the county’s Industrial Development Agency.

Officials say the law was crafted specifically to help attract business to the Mason Industrial Park in the town of Ellicott. According the Post-Journal, the law will allow the county to use excess capital industrial project funds to be used toward purchasing land at the park, which can then be used to develop more business opportunities.

The county also plans to use some of the money as part of an incentive package to bring new business into the park.

The legislature also approved a resolution to give $50,000 to the IDA to support its marketing efforts in attracting tourism-related businesses.

According to the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency, Gren Ventures, LLC, is engaged in a new expansion project on Mason Drive in the Mason Industrial Park in the Town of Ellicott.

The new construction consists of a 22,875 square foot building, which will serve as their new recycling and warehousing center. The construction project involves driveway, parking, landscaping and improvements to the land.

Gren will receive a Payment in Lieu of Tax (PILOT) Agreement from the County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA).  The CCIDA also partnered with M&T Bank on the company’s $1,600,000 capital investment, providing a $550,000 AL Tech Loan.

Gren Ventures, LLC is expanding beyond the new recycling and warehousing center to also accommodate new lines of businesses, and more warehouse space is necessary to house all the new products.

The new brands will now be distributed locally; four new employees have been hired, and additional hiring will follow.

Arthur R. Gren Company, Inc. located at 1886 Mason Drive, Jamestown, NY (Town of Ellicott) was incorporated in 1954, serving Chautauqua County as a private company wholesale distributer. The company has 36 full time employees, and this expansion will create new employment.