Impress USA, Empire State Development (ESD) and Broome County leaders recently cut the ribbon for Impress USA’s new manufacturing plant in Conklin. The global leader in the consumer metal packaging industry will initially bring 65 new, full-time employees to the location in Broome County. ESD provided Impress USA with a $750,000 grant to assist in construction, machinery acquisition and training.
Impress USA, whose products are used in a wide variety of materials, from infant formula to aerosol paint, broke ground and started construction on its 100,000 square-foot facility for metal manufacturing in September 2009. The plant was constructed to allow for a second phase of expansion where employment could eventually be doubled. The Conklin plant will produce leading edge, steel easy-open ends for the North American market. The ends are designed by the Impress research and development center in France, a world leader in easy open-technology.
“I am pleased to welcome Impress USA to New York State and am proud that the state and its various partners were able to play a role in attracting this manufacturer to its new home in Conklin and, in turn, securing economic stability for the Southern Tier region,” said Governor David A. Paterson. “Today’s ribbon cutting serves as a reminder of how important it is to be responsive and agile to the needs of businesses—within our state and beyond—and to help best position them to be successful.”
“Today’s ribbon cutting marks a milestone not just for Impress USA and Broome County, but for manufacturing in New York State, which continues to serve as the backbone of our economy,” said Empire State Development Chairman & CEO Dennis M. Mullen. “This international manufacturer, attracted by the Southern Tier’s highly-skilled workforce, superb higher education facilities that will support its training needs and supportive local and state government, has invested millions of dollars in the region and will provide jobs to New Yorker. Governor Paterson and ESD are committed to doing all we can to ensure that businesses thrive in New York State and Impress USA’s choice of Conklin for its operation is illustrative of that pledge.”
Broome County Executive Barbara J. Fiala said: “It has been a long road but we are delighted to celebrate the opening of this magnificent development. We are thrilled Impress chose Broome County for its newest advanced manufacturing facility. We look forward to continuing to work with them to make this a successful operation that thrives and contributes significantly to our economy for many years to come.”
Impress North America President Dennis Kester said: “This is a really great day for all employees involved as we see the first results of what has been a major team effort. I am very confident that this factory will be a major success and offer the best easy open ends to our customers both in terms of lightweighting as well as design and ease of opening. I take this opportunity to thank Francis Labbé, CEO of Impress for his encouragement and support throughout this project. This factory is a great example of what modern metal packaging is about and will add value to our business going forward.”
Senator Tom Libous said: “The talented people in our community’s workforce just need the opportunity to go out and earn a good living for their families. This is a great example of government doing things right—working with successful companies like Impress USA to create jobs and opportunities.”
Assemblyman Clifford W. Crouch said: “I want to thank Impress for coming to Conklin, New York and for having faith in the quality of the workforce here in the Southern Tier. I also want to thank Governor Paterson and Dennis Mullen, Chairman of the Empire State Development, for working with Impress to assist them in their development here in Broome County. In these difficult economic times, it is important that we continue to invest our economic development funds to sustain and grow manufacturing in New York State.”
Broome County Industrial Development Agency Executive Director Richard D’Attilio said: “We are thrilled to join Impress for the opening of the company's state-of-the-art plant in Conklin. This facility symbolizes the commitment of Greater Binghamton and New York to high-tech manufacturing in a very competitive global environment.”
Town of Conklin Supervisor Debbie Preston said: “I am very excited to be part of today’s ribbon cutting for Impress USA: first, for the jobs it has created and second, for the ray of light it has given at the end of the tunnel not, only to the Town of Conklin, but to Broome County and New York State, demonstrating that manufacturing jobs are coming back to our area. This is just the beginning.”
The Impress USA factory is a model for environmental protection and expects to be certified in Leadership, Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), a program managed through the World Green Building Council. Additionally, the operations have a ZERO landfill program. This means the Conklin facility is committed to recycling all its generated waste, sending nothing to landfill. Impress, based in Deventer, the Netherlands, provides metal packaging solutions for consumer goods. From baby food to soups, from paints to hairspray and from tuna to cappuccino, Impress plays a key role in differentiating our customers’ products and bringing value to the consumer. As an international company, Impress designs, makes and sells metal cans in steel and aluminum, in a widevariety of shapes and sizes: round, rectangular, shaped, straight sided or conical, printed and unprinted. Impress also provides many different opening systems, including Easy Open ends in steel and aluminum, and its award-winning Easy Peel® peelable ends for both retortable and dry foods.
Impress is the largest supplier of seafood cans (worldwide), aerosol cans (Europe and Australasia), cans for paints and coatings (Europe) and cans for infant and nutritional milk powders (Europe). Impress is also the second largest supplier of heat processed food cans in Europe and Australasia. It employs around 7,600 people in 57 facilities in 22 countries in Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Seychelles, Morocco and Korea.
Empire State Development is New York’s chief economic development agency and administrator of the statewide business resource portal New York First (www.NYfirst.NY.gov). ESD is committed to being recognized on a global scale as the economic development engine driving job growth, strategic investment and prosperity in New York State. ESD is intent on paving the way for New York State to become the leader of the innovation economy and one of the most business friendly, productive and competitive economic development climates in the world. ESD also oversees the marketing of “I LOVE NY,” the State’s iconic tourism brand. For more information on Empire State Development, visit www.esd.ny.gov.