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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Three Canadian Companies Expand to New York State’s Buffalo Niagara Region

03/27/2013
Three new Canadian companies, TLC Pet Food, Ameta International and Green Tower Industries Inc. will bring 18 new jobs and $1.3 million in investment to New York State’s Buffalo Niagara region. “We continue to see a consistent flow of Canadian companies of all sizes looking to expand into the U.S. or increase their existing U.S. market share,” said Buffalo Niagara Enterprise President and CEO Thomas Kucharski. These companies are realizing how much of a time and cost savings it is to establish a facility here when doing business in the U.S.” TLC Pet Food is a distribution company headquartered in New Hamburg, Ontario, currently enjoying double digit annual growth in Canada and Japan. TLC forecasts massive sales volumes coming from the U.S. market and has aggressive expansion plans. The company told BNE officials it wanted to establish an American office, warehouse and distribution center to accommodate the expansion.

BNE supported the company by identifying appropriate real estate options, and assisting with international due diligence that included providing regional workforce and wage data and connecting the firm with U.S. professional service providers.

“We were looking at several locations for our new U.S. headquarters but the BNE quickly convinced us that Buffalo Niagara was the ideal location,” says company President Erik Kuttis. “I credit the BNE directly for marketing the area so effectively and making the decision and process so easy.”

TLC Pet Food plans to hire 5 new employees and invest $250,000 at their newly leased facility on Cooper Avenue in the Town of Tonawanda, New York.

Ameta International Co. Ltd. is a distributor of security surveillance systems and security cards. As Ameta’s U.S. sales were growing, the company was encountering.

difficulties in fulfilling their customer demand from their Markham, Ontario headquarters, BNE said.

Everything from bridge delays to high shipping costs to trouble with processing U.S. credit cards were costing them time and money. A new facility in the U.S. was the best way to address the company’s needs. BNE assisted Ameta with cross border due diligence including tax and accounting services, incorporation, immigration, and banking services.

The New York State Department of Labor worked with BNE to help the company with a number of workforce needs involving employee recruitment, human resources services and wage data. Ameta will invest $250,000 and create 8 new jobs in their newly leased facility on Kenmore Avenue in Tonawanda.

Tech company Green Tower Industries is a waste to energy generation firm headquartered in Kirkland, Quebec, with an existing U.S. location in Maine.

The company turns organic waste into energy using an anaerobic digester to generate power that will be sold back into the electricity grid. An expanding customer base was driving Green Tower’s need for a second U.S. facility. Green Tower Industries considered expanding its operation to Southern Ontario, but found Buffalo Niagara to be more affordable and have less government regulations.

BNE worked with the company to identify affordable real estate options, access to incentives and site specific work that included special zoning and environmental permits. The company purchased a building on Grider Street in the City of Buffalo where they have committed to hiring 5 people and investing $775,000.

“BNE was instrumental in the process of expanding our business to Buffalo Niagara. When we contacted them, we were overwhelmed with how welcoming and helpful BNE and the entire Buffalo Niagara business community were,” said Green Tower Industries CFO, Ronald M. Goldenberg.

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