They aren’t. Businesses are leaving this area. Wilson Greatbatch (father works there) just opened a plant in Tiajuana and they have been steadily moving things there since it got up and running. They told my father that it was only going to house 100 employees. Bullshit, you don’t open a 100,000 sq/ft facility for 100 employees.
Did you seem to forget that they opened up a new 120,000 sq ft factory in alden in August?
Greatbatch Inc. opened its new 120,000-square-foot plant in Alden, New York, in August. The plant will combine all of the company’s battery and capacitor manufacturing operations in a single facility.
“The most advanced, up-to-date manufacturing facility for medical batteries in the world is here in Alden,” Edward F. Voboril, Greatbatch’s chairman and chief executive officer, told employees gathered outside the plant’s main entrance. “The plant provides a solid foundation for a very bright future together.” The $40 million facility will allow Greatbatch to combine battery and capacitor manufacturing operations that previously were spread among facilities in Amherst, Clarence, and Cheektowaga, New York. “It also will bring engineering and support operations under a single roof, creating further efficiencies,” says Thomas J. Hook, the company’s president and chief operating officer.
The technology that the company is built around was developed by pacemaker inventor Wilson Greatbatch, who attended the opening ceremony and toured the facility. Thirty-five years after its founding the company has become one of the Buffalo region’s bigger private sector employers with about 800 workers.
I would also like to mention that they have been contracting a local business to do thier new web work as well.
Wilson Greatbatch, a developer and manufacturer of components going into implantable medical devices including pacemakers and defibrillators, joins an established medical device manufacturing cluster in Tijuana that includes Medtronic, Tyco Healthcare and Johnson & Johnson.
Wilson Greatbatch is closing its facility in Carson City, Nev., as it ramps up Tijuana operations, but the Mexico facility will create new revenue opportunities for the company, officials say.
Mauricio Arellano, president of Greatbatch Mexico, says his company looked at about five locations in Mexico before narrowing the field to Tijuana and Tecate, about 20 miles (32 km.) away. He says Tijuana’s education system and the availability of trained labor were major selling points.
“Tijuana has 18 universities and technical schools, graduating industrial, mechanical, electrical systems and other engineering disciplines to support industry growth,” Arellano says. "There is an industrial culture in place that dates back 40 years of constant evolution. Lean manufacturing and Six-Sigma tools are commonly used in most medical device operations.
“We’ve hired a lot of engineers, Mexican nationals who have their PhDs,” he continues. “From the first day of recruitment, we’ve had no issues in attracting talent. When you look at my management staff, each one of them comes from a medical device manufacturing background.”
Wilson Greatbatch’s new facility is in ProLogis Tijuana Park, just two miles (3.2 km.) from the U.S. border. Aiding logistics is the presence of about 50 specialized international freight companies and more than 100 trucking firms serving the Tijuana-San Diego area, Arellano says.
The building is equipped with the latest technology. Production began in March and by late July, 112 workers were on board. Plans call for 400-500 workers at the facility by 2008.
“It’s a state-of-the-art facility and I’m not just saying that as a cliché,” Arellano says. “We have automated controls systems. ProLogis is our partner and their business model is the same everywhere. They promised a completed building in six months and they did it. They have the best infrastructure in Tijuana. Being this close to the border, traffic of goods and visitors is incredibly convenient.”
Medical device manufacturing is by no means new to Mexico, but now the evolution is towards high-value-added manufacturing, Arellano says, adding that the entire state of Baja California is targeting this advanced sector of the industry.
OK so big deal… they closed a plant in Nevada, and built a new one in Mexico… pretty much no effect on Buffalo.
As far as Richs goes… I think its pretty obvious that they are committed to the buffalo area, or they would have been gone long ago. All of the owners live here, and they are buying businesses left and right. I believed they just announced a huge investment in thier local facilities not too long ago as well…
New Era Caps has also announced that it will be relocating its worldwide headquarters to the city.
Its obviously expensive to do business in New York… but there are things that offset the costs in some cases, such as the price of land, realestate, the ability to buy one of the biggest mansions in the city for well under 1million… (rick snowden), etc.
Companies are making it work… and this is irrevelant to the city argument anyway. Its a state issue.
we should fill them with gasoline and set it off with thermite
definantly obvious to my father …
Rich’s might LIKE the area, but that doesnt mean they wont move facilities out of the area when they can save a ton of money in the process
They are also closing a plant in Boston.