An architectural rendering of the exterior of the proposed Thousand Islands Event Center in the town of Watertown.
After championing the project for 15 years, Watertown Town Supervisor Joel R. Bartlett’s effort is paying off with a planned $80 million event center off Route 3.
Mr. Bartlett and the Watertown Local Development Corp. are working with OVG Facilities, a $10 billion developer and operator of sports facilities around the world, a firm headed by Michael F. Sherman, former head coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers, and Seahawks Hockey Premier Hockey Club, a hockey club and academy in Cape Cod.
The developers said they are moving ahead with the 520,000-square-foot multi-use indoor facility.
The Thousand Islands Event Center will provide state-of-the-art space for a complete range of sports, recreation, entertainment and special events serving the north country, the Thousand Islands and southern Ontario, the developers said.
“This might well put us finally on the map,” Mr. Bartlett said.
They are seeking $30 million in financing from the state.
Working with Upstate Strategic Advisors, a governmental affairs consultant, they’ll arrange a meeting in the next couple of weeks with Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul to secure state funding.
They’re confident that the state will come through with financial aid for the project they say will benefit the Thousand Islands tourism industry and the region’s economy.
The group is projecting a Jan. 1, 2024, opening. They’re expecting groundbreaking to be later this summer or early fall.
Located near the Board of Cooperative Educational Services complex, the land is owned by the Watertown Local Development Corp., which will lease it to OVG Facilities and Mike Sherman Sports, or MS2, an athletics organization that he operates in Cape Cod.
Financing for the project also includes $15 million in private equity and $35 million in taxable bonding. Other funding would come from $5 million in naming rights and a capital campaign.
The events center will have two indoor turf fields, eight basketball courts, 16 volleyball courts, a 220-meter banked indoor track, two National Hockey League-quality sheets of ice and facilities for wrestling, gymnastics and pitching/batting cages.
Describing it as “a top-tier destination for year-round events,” the facility will bring people into the area, plus north country families will no longer have to drive a few hours away to sports tournaments for their children, the partners said.
They project that the facility will attract 250 event days and 305,884 patrons of which 93,554 will need to stay in local hotels.
They also project $142.5 million in visitor spending and $20.1 million in incremental lodging revenues over five years, with the need for an additional 327 hotel rooms in the region.
The event center is “ideally located” to serve a primary radius of 60 miles, a secondary market of 90 miles and people as far as 120 miles away, according to the developers.
The group envisions hosting college hockey tournaments with all of the nation’s top teams. The facility also will be used for the adult sports market.
The facility will also feature a 9,000-seat venue for sports, concerts, family shows and other live events. It will accommodate conventions, trade and consumer shows, exhibitions and other events.
The facility will employ 49 positions and 220 construction and short-term jobs.
The three partners are also working with Yaeger Architects, Lenexa, Kansas, on facility design; Arizona Building Systems, St. Louis, Missouri, for engineering; and Upstate Strategic Advisors, Buffalo, on governmental affairs.
Companies considering the adult-use cannabis space now have more guidelines on testing, marketing, labeling and packaging since the state approved regulations earlier this month.
The regulations make it very clear that third-party laboratories, as they or their “interested parties” can have “no interest in a registered organization, adult-use cultivator, processor, distributor, retail dispensary.”
The laboratories will need ISO 17025 accreditation, a set of standards for testing and calibration laboratories. That accreditation will be the “biggest hurdle” for labs, said Michelle Bonn, president and CEO of Compliance Team, a life sciences consulting firm. Achieving that accreditation, she said, is quite involved, as she’s worked with pharmaceutical labs that have maintained the accreditation. It includes a process on how to train personnel, how to do sample testing and how to calibrate equipment.
“You have to build out a compliance plan that states all of your equipment is proven and validated to run specific tests on a product that will produce consistent results,” she said. “If you get false positive or negative results on a test because your equipment isn’t calibrated, that’s a huge problem.”
Bonn’s firm — which has 12 employees — has worked in the compliance and regulatory space for years with food and pharmaceutical clients. Now she plans to step into the cannabis industry.
“Cannabis is a perfect fit for what we do; it’s just a different product,” Bonn said. “It’s a drug and a regulated industry with food and compliance tied to it. We work in that space, and we have people who can build plans for these businesses that pop up.”
The testing laboratory license will be difficult to get, Bonn said, partly due to the level of experience and education required of personnel. A lab must have at least one technical director responsible for developing and implementing quality systems. That director must have a doctoral or master’s degree in “chemical, environmental, physical or biological sciences, or engineering,” and at least one year of experience of laboratory work.
Cannabis products can’t look like candy — or cartoons
The second set of new regulations for marketing, labeling and packaging include extensive language about the under-21 crowd. The rules require labeling for the THC concentration, potency, ingredients and nutritional information.
Sam Hoyt, president of Upstate Strategic Advisors and former New York State Assemblyman, is concerned about including a vast amount of warnings and labeling on small packages.
“Environmental sustainability is one of the overall goals in these regulations, so you don’t necessarily want to encourage over-packaging,” he said, who started his compliance and regulatory consulting firm four years ago. He has several cannabis clients.
The regulations stipulate that packaging can’t have neon colors, cartoons or names like “candy.” That type of advertising is considered attractive to those under 21. Bonn said this requirement is close to the FDA’s updated requirements on e-cigarettes, which originally had targeted youth with fruity flavors and high school-specific advertising.
“The state wants to produce a safe industry with a safe product and know that the businesses are doing the back end work to ensure safety for their consumers and their patients,” Bonn said. “The warnings are going to have to be crystal clear, with risks and benefits.”
Hoyt said New York State is known for tight regulation and for being “very punitive for people who violate.”
“New York is going to make it very clear that marketing to underage individuals is a no-no and that if you do it, we’ll come down very hard on you,” he said. “But the regulations are going to need to be very clear on this.”
Cannabis products also can’t make medical claims
Because these future adult-use cannabis products are not approved by the FDA to treat medical conditions, companies cannot make medical claims, Bonn added.
“If there’s labeling on a package that makes a medical claim on an adult-use product, the FDA can step in,” she said. “Even though they doesn’t regulate cannabis, the FDA can step in if cannabis products start to touch the areas that they control. They can shut you down and take your product off the market.”
“There’s an awful lot of detail here, and I don’t think the OCM will be surprised that there’s going to be a robust response,” Hoyt said. “The cannabis community is concerned about a tight timeline.”
Bonn said the best advice she has for companies and entrepreneurs entering the new industry is not to push the boundaries set by the state..
“The biggest lesson for anyone getting into the industry,” she said, “is that they need to fully embrace and understand that they’re entering a regulated space.”
PRESERVATION BUFFALO NIAGARA (PBN) identifies, protects, and promotes the unique architecture and historic legacy, and connects people to the places they love in Western New York.
Upstate Strategic Advisors President Sam Hoyt honored with the 2022 George K Arthur Award for Preservation Leadership
As a former New York State Assemblymember and Regional President of Empire State Development Corporation and current President of Upstate Strategic Advisors, Sam Hoyt led the effort to implement and improve the New York State Historic Preservation Tax Credit.
The passage of the historic tax credit bill, led by Mr. Hoyt and former State Senator David Valesky of Oneida, has resulted in one of the most successful economic development programs in New York State history. The tax credit has spurred $12 billion in investment to revitalized more than 1,000 historic properties since 2011, including well over a billion dollars of private investment in Western New York.
Buffalo, NY—Three Western New York-based personal protective equipment (PPE) manufacturing companies: NYPPE, LLC, of Tonawanda, Pure Environments by Shatkin First of Amherst, and BMP of Medina, today announced the donation of 15,000 adult and pediatric high filtration, medical-grade masks, and N95s to a host of east side not-for-profit groups. The announcement took place at the Seneca-Babcock Community Association. These companies are part of the New York State PPE Manufacturers Association (NYSPPEMA) representing New York State-based companies manufacturing personal protective equipment and rapid covid test kits.
Connor Knapp, co-chair of the NYSPPEMA and owner of NYPPE, LLC. said, “The NYS PPE Manufacturers Association is pleased to be able to assist our local community-based organizations with their efforts to keep their members healthy and safe. The 15,000 masks that we are donating today are all manufactured right here in Western New York. We believe it is critical that the products that we are using to combat Covid-19 and the Omicron variant are safe and reliable, something that cannot be said of the majority of foreign-made products that have been sold and distributed into the U.S. market. These unsafe products pose a direct threat to Americans effectively protecting themselves and mitigating the spread of the virus. We pride ourselves on providing reliable, American and New York made alternatives to our fellow Americans to ensure their safety and the safety of their loved ones.”
One of the most effective ways to reduce the transmission of Covid is through high filtration masks which are currently in short supply and often too costly for many residents to purchase.
Additionally, the increased demand for masks has resulted in millions of fraudulent, counterfeit, and even reused masks being sold on the market, mostly from foreign countries. These unsafe products not only severely hamper efforts to mitigate the spread of Covid and the recent Omicron variant but jeopardize the safety of the users who think they are protected by using them.
These New York State manufactured masks are safe, locally available, and the companies that make them employ hundreds of New Yorkers.
The Buffalo City Council recently passed a resolution encouraging Buffalo public schools, city agencies, and businesses to utilize locally produced personal protective equipment.
Councilmember Nowakowski, who introduced the resolution, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has made very clear what we Council Members already knew to be true: neighborhood-based community groups are the frontline for families, our elders, and children in the community. They help form the social safety net for our residents. On behalf of the Buffalo Common Council, I would like to thank NYPPE, Pure Environments by Shatkin First, and BMP America for their generous donation of 15,000 high-filtration masks today to the Seneca-Babcock Community Association. In a time of crisis, these companies were able to respond to the demand for PPE products by manufacturing them here in Western New York, supporting local families with local jobs. Buffalo is all about buying and supporting local, and this should be true for PPE as well. I hope those in a position to make purchasing decisions strongly consider purchasing locally manufactured products whenever possible.”
All donated masks will be donated to both locations of the Seneca-Babcock Community Association and then further distributed to 10-15 additional community groups, block clubs, and tenant/neighborhood associations.
“The partnership shown by the NYS PPE Manufacturers Association is a shining example of businesses coming together for a common cause in the fight against Covid-19,” said Lovejoy Council Member Bryan Bollman. “Their leadership will allow us to provide critical resources to our residents across the Lovejoy District, starting with our senior living facilities and community centers. And, even better news, all of the PPE was made here in Western New York by western New Yorkers.”
Brian Pilarski, president of the Seneca Babcock Community Center and Town of Cheektowaga Councilmember said, “The people who use this facility and our others are from underserved communities. These families live in poverty and/or are the working poor. They do not have the financial wherewithal to incur all the extra expenses associated with the pandemic. On their behalf, I thank these companies for this generous donation and assure you that these masks will be distributed to families who are in real need of this type of support. Also, in my capacity as a member of the Cheektowaga Town Council, I am pleased to announce that I will soon be introducing a resolution, similar to the one passed by the Buffalo Council, encouraging everyone to buy from local manufacturers when it comes to PPE purchasing.”
Dr. Todd Shatkin stated, “We are happy to support the community by providing these N95 masks. When NY State called for community innovation to combat the Covid crisis, we rose to the challenge, quickly ramping up to provide the very best quality filtration masks available! We have recently received NIOSH approval and are currently in full force making N95 respirators. It’s been a privilege to be able to donate hundreds of thousands of masks to local area hospitals, nursing homes, and the community at large. We know that the new variant has increased demand and that is why we are excited to provide safe, reliable, New York state-made products to our community.”
Alan Lebold, President of BMP America stated, “As the Covid pandemic reached the United States in 2020, our employees recognized that BMP America has all the right tools to design, manufacture, and sell superior cloth face masks. A majority of the products that BMP America produces are highly technical filters. The BMP company designs technical textiles, manufactures industrial products from these technical textiles in Medina, New York, and sells to major industrial manufactures around the world including Xerox, Kodak, Hewlett-Packard, Whirlpool, Electrolux, and Dyson. With BMP America’s technical textile knowledge and state-of-the-art processing equipment, we have designed the world’s lowest-cost highest filtration efficiency washable face mask on the market today. Our masks are available in both adult and child sizes and in an array of beautiful colors. Beyond our mask’s outstanding filtration efficiency, the BMP mask has incredible comfort due to the use of polyester/nylon microfibers which are 7 times finer than natural silk fibers.
“With the Covid pandemic continuing, the BMP America company has donated masks to local schools, businesses, and now to local community centers, continued Lebold. “Lebold BMP America has a long history of donating to important causes throughout the New York State area and this is just another one of these important causes!”
About the NY State PPE Manufacturers Association:
The NYSPPEMA is an association of 20 companies from across New York State manufacturing personal protective equipment. The association represents those companies that responded to the dire need for these products at the outset of the pandemic and ramped up their manufacturing of safe, reliable, and effective PPE. NYSPPEMA intends to continue this mission to aid in safeguarding the American people against the current pandemic, and to ensure that a sustainable domestic PPE supply chain is created to ensure New York and the United States is never caught unprepared again.
We sat down with three professional athletes, Connor Knapp and Morris Titanic (Buffalo Sabres), and Maddie Elia (Buffalo Beauts) who hung up their skates, and transitioned from their successful professional hockey careers into regular working life in Buffalo. And the trio have certainly made the most of their new direction!
Any pro-athlete will tell you, it’s impossible to know when retirement will rear its head. It comes at a different time and in different avenues for everybody.
Connor Knapp grew up in York, N.Y., a small town south of Rochester. He and his three siblings grew up loving hockey, but the Knapp family had even more in common – they all played goaltender.
“We had this big van, and sometimes we fit four sets of [goalie] equipment in there,” Knapp said of his early hockey days. “My oldest brother got into it, and there was just this follow-on effect … We had a madhouse sometimes growing up.”
Knapp’s skill at the goaltender position took him to Boston to play for the Jr. Bruins when he was 17 before heading to the college level where he played at Miami University (Ohio) for four years, going 46-22-11 in his career with the RedHawks.
In 2009, after his freshman year at Miami, a dream came true. He was selected by the Buffalo Sabres 164th overall in the sixth round of that year’s NHL Entry Draft, and would then sign a two-year entry level contract with the Sabres in 2012.
New York’s efforts to manufacture its own personal protective equipment in the state has led to a $20 million investment from the state and helped to support 3,000 jobs, a coalition of NYS PPE manufacturing firms said.
The push was part of an effort by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2020 to have a reliable supply chain for pandemic-related supplies, including face masks, face shields, sanitizing products, and gloves. Now, as Gov. Kathy Hochul signals she wants to keep the program in place, manufacturing companies this month signaled they’re ready to work with her new administration.
“We have the expertise, resources, and manufacturing capacity to make sure that every New York resident has the highest quality protective equipment, manufactured right here in their home state,” wrote the coalition of 35 New York companies called NYS PPE Manufacturers.
Hochul at an annual gathering of the New York Business Council last month singled out the program, indicating it’s something she wants to continue.
Private sector companies spent millions of dollars in addition to the public funding for encouraging the manufacturing of personal protective equipment. That, in turn, led to the making of tens of millions of pandemic-related units for hospitals, doctors’ offices, and schools.
And as COVID-19 cases continue amid concerns of another wintertime spike as well as the uncertainty stoked by problems with the global supply chain, manufacturing in New York could continue.
“By doing so we can strengthen the economy of New York State, keep hundreds of hard-working New Yorkers on the job,” the companies wrote, “and ensure that New Yorkers are getting the proper protection they need to see them through another pandemic winter and beyond.”
Empire State Development (ESD)announced that technology and logistics firm, Founders Holding Co., and its subsidiaries are planning to expand their current facility on East Amherst Street in the City of Buffalo and would create up to 148 new jobs over the next ten years. The project would receive up to $1.5 million from ESD based on actual job creation through the Excelsior Tax Credit Program in exchange for continued job creation commitments over the next decade.
Kevin Younis, ESD Chief Operating Officer and Executive Deputy Commissioner said, “Founders Holding Co.’s expansion reflects its commitment to Buffalo’s East Side and supports New York State’s strategic plan to encourage business growth in the area. The tech and logistic company’s investment is a win, both for Western New York job seekers in search of better opportunities and for the Erie County economy.”
Founders Holding Co. — ranked on Inc. Magazine’s list of America’s 5000 fastest growing private companies in 2020 and 2021 — is a holding company that acquires, partners, and works with companies in the transportation, logistics, e-commerce, and technology sectors. The company has four operating divisions: Founders Logistics, the firm’s newest venture that was launched to take advantage of the unprecedented growth of e-commerce distribution services; Founders Mobility, one of the largest health and human service transportation providers in New York State; Founders Software, a leading developer of innovative SaaS technologies in the US; and Founders Gateway, a provider of leading-edge back office shared services, including accounting, HR, IT, and operations.
Paul Snyder IV, President of Founders Holding Co. said, “For over 10 years, the City of Buffalo has proven to be an ideal home for Founders Holding Co., and we are very proud to be a part of the area’s legacy of growth and transformation. It is wonderful that New York State and Governor Hochul share our commitment to creating economic opportunities in this often underserved and overlooked neighborhood, and we are incredibly grateful for their support and enthusiasm as we expand.”
Founders Logistics anticipates investing more than $28 million over the next five years to acquire and expand its holdings as an e-commerce Independent Service Provider (IPS). Funds would be used to grow market share, acquire vehicles, make capital improvements to its headquarters located at 401 E. Amherst Street in Buffalo, and develop logistics software for the industry.
The acquisitions by Founders Logistics are part of a larger strategic plan to expand across North America while centralizing the firm’s operations in Buffalo. These operations, including the servicing, fueling, recruitment, training, and back-office functions are operated from Founder’s distribution and servicing center located on the East Side of Buffalo.
Founders Holding Co. has spent the last decade working to provide meaningful employment opportunities and job training for communities that are often described as underemployed, underrepresented, and impoverished. Founders works closely with local public and private sector stakeholders to recruit employees from programs such as PIVOT, which match temporary assistance clients seeking employment to companies looking to fill full-time positions.
In addition to employment opportunities, Founders Holding Co. has a history of promoting within, providing opportunities for employees to move from living-wage jobs to supervisory and managerial jobs. These efforts are supported by management training, and business fundamentals training to provide a skill set that is transferable beyond the work being done for Founders Logistics.
Senator Tim Kennedy said, “As we Build Back Better in New York, Founders Holding Co. is demonstrating a strong commitment to growth and job creation here in Buffalo, and that investment will continue to fuel our local economy and workforce. I’m excited to see this strategic expansion unfold in the heart of Buffalo with support from New York State.”
Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes said, “New York State is committed to strategically investing in companies like Founders Holding Co., that can spur job creation and economic opportunities on Buffalo’s East Side and in Greater Western New York. I applaud Governor Hochul’s leadership and investment in WNY economy through the Excelsior Tax Credit Program.”
Mayor Byron Brown said, “The increased commitment by Buffalo-based Founders Holding Co. complements my administration’s efforts to attract additional investment and add jobs to Buffalo’s east side neighborhoods. Founders pledge to invest $28 million to grow its E. Amherst Street headquarters, add 148 new jobs and continue its growth in the transportation, logistics, and technology sectors, is a win for Buffalo’s east side. I thank Governor Kathy Hochul and Empire State Development for their continued assistance to companies looking to grow and thrive in the City of Buffalo.”
County Executive Mark Poloncarz said, “Founders Holding Co. is showing its commitment to Erie County with this expansion and announcement that they anticipate creating 148 jobs over the next ten years, building our workforce and showing once again why our community is a great place to do business. We welcome this news and look forward to the next ten years of growth.”
I have known Kathy Hochul for nearly 30 years, both as a friend, fellow Western New Yorker, colleague, and I’ve seen her hard work and dedication over the years at the local, state, and federal level while I served for 20 years in the NY Assembly and as as the head of the Western NY Empire State Development under the previous Governor. In every position she has held she has been a no-nonsense, get-the-job-done type of leader.
Governor Hochul knows that there is no issue too small when it impacts the viability and success of small businesses and she, more than anyone else, understands how new opportunities can positively impact livelihoods and the entire state economy. As a town board member in Hamburg, she mastered grassroots advocacy, pushing for initiatives that impacted the bottom lines for her constituency, like removing the Thruway toll barriers. She has served as County Clerk and, after working as a staffer for the legendary late Senator, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, became a member of Congress, winning a seat that few expected her to win. From my experience working with Governor Hochul during her term as Lieutenant Governor, I can speak first hand about her work ethic and the many miles she traveled each day to meet with and serve New Yorkers.
Governor Hochul approaches every issue with a sense of urgency and will not let any more dust settle on the recreational cannabis industry impacting hundreds of people looking to grow, process, and retail recreational marijuana and infuse much-needed money into the state economy. It is no surprise that one of her first acts as Governor was to begin appointments to the Office of Cannabis Management necessary to implement the Marijuana Regulation and Tax Act.
She will build coalitions and identify partners to help her achieve her goals. As evidenced by her early and decisive actions regarding the OCM and CCB, I believe we have a leader who will work tirelessly to assure that New York’s adult-use law is the catalyst for establishing the finest and fairest cannabis program in the country. She will work hard to implement the improvements and expansions to the State’s existing medical cannabis and hemp/CBD programs so that the cannabis industry may reach its full potential here in New York, and upstate farmers can have opportunities in this emerging space.
I anticipate that Governor Hochul will completely embrace the importance of social equity and will fight to assure that the communities that were hit the hardest by the shortsighted and ineffective “war on drugs” will be given a fair chance to compete and prosper in this new industry. Based on the appointments made to date and the Governor’s passion for Upstate New York, I am confident that there will also be geographic equity when it comes to the distribution of licenses across the state and the cannabis industries will breathe fresh air into our upstate communities.
Much of what happens next in the industry depends on the regulations that are being developed, Governor Hochul will be sensitive to the need to balance expediency and sensible policy. She will demand that her team at OCM do whatever is necessary to make up for lost time and get licenses out the door as quickly as possible.
Upstate Strategic Advisors is pleased that our client, BusPatrol America, has signed an agreement with the City of Niagara Falls and the Niagara Falls School District to provide state-of-the-art stop-arm camera technology on every school bus in the city to protect children who are being picked up or dropped off for school.
Far too often reckless drivers ignore the flashing lights on school buses and illegally pass them putting children’s lives at risk. This program will use sophisticated video technology which the police will use to issue citations to the violators. Niagara Falls will be the first city in Upstate New York using this technology to protect their students.
Niagara Falls School Superintendent Mark Laurrie, Raeann Argy Tyler, from Niagara Falls Coach Lines, and Mayor Robert Restaino sign a contract with BusPatrol America to provide school bus cameras to detect drivers who pass stopped school buses on Thursday.
From Niagara-Gazette.com — The city of Niagara Falls, the Falls School District, and Niagara Falls Coach Lines have inked a pact with a company that will bring safety camera technology to the district’s fleet of buses.
Mayor Robert Restaino announced the partnership with BusPatrol during a Thursday afternoon news conference. The contract was signed earlier in the day at city hall.
BusPatrol specializes in what is described as school bus safety technology. The company says its technology focuses on increasing bus safety through the use of data collection and video monitoring.
In practice, BusPatrol installs video cameras on the outside of school buses, typically on the bus’ stop-arm. The camera is activated each time a bus stops and the stop-arm is extended.
As Connor Knapp’s career as a professional goaltender was winding down, he was frustrated by the lack of control he had over his own pathway.
Knapp is a Geneseo native who was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres and played in two games in the 2013-14 season. That was before he was stuck in a journeyman’s role that saw him bumped around to different leagues, teams and cities.
From this experience, the mindset of an entrepreneur was created. For better or worse, Knapp plans to make his own decisions.
“The biggest thing for me is that you control your own destiny,” Knapp said. “You make the ultimate decision on things, and if you are successful it’s great and you can take pride in it. If you screw up or things don’t go according to plan, you try and make up for it.”
Knapp spent the last couple summers of his hockey career working with childhood teammate-turned-successful businessman Pete Bruckel.
By late 2016, Knapp was mulling continuing his career in Europe or possibly entering the field of medical device sales. Bruckel suggested doing his own thing.
The two friends co-founded Sterling Heart Care in 2017, working with local cardiologists to build specialized cardiovascular treatment centers. The company – built in the model of a scalable startup business – was starting to grow last year. The early months of 2020 saw Sterling turn the corner on profitability, but the Covid-19 pandemic had an enormous impact on its progress.
For Knapp, the issue of personal protective equipment became paramount to in-person interactions with heart disease patients. He scoured the world for reputable makers of masks and shields, a frustrating process that mostly involved middlemen hocking shoddy products for outrageous prices.
“It was super frustrating, and it really framed in my mind how bad our PPE issue is here in the United States,” he said. “It was causing a real problem.”
An idea was born. Knapp and Bruckel are the co-founders of a new company, NYPPE Inc., which aims to make affordable N95 surgical masks for health-care customers in the U.S. The company recently received a $1 million grant from New York state to assist with startup costs, which it is matching with its own funding, adding up to a roughly $2 million project.
NYPPE soon plans to install newly acquired equipment at a 4,250-square-foot facility in Kenmore, where it will begin by hiring about 16 people to run its first production shift.
First it will build prototypes that are certified by agencies such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and then enter relationships with high-value customers who are desperate for reputable PPE distributors.
Knapp believes the demand is only going to accelerate. The company is in conversations with National Grid, the New York Power Authority, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership and the Northland Workforce Training Center on various potential partnerships.
“We’re most likely going to be dealing with (the public health crisis) well into 2021,” he said. “We have a huge list of potential customers, and though we span the entire country, our ideal situation is that we’re selling most of our products locally in Western New York.”
In the meantime, Knapp’s enthusiasm for Sterling has not dampened. The business has eight full-time employees, two cardiologist-partners and a dedicated investor in Bruckel. He said the goal is to prove out the model on a first site, which will open up potential partnerships going forward.
It’s a lot to consider – kind of like a goalie trying to hold a lead while getting peppered in the third period. Knapp is undeterred.
“I have a lot of late nights, but I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else,” he said. “It’s extremely rewarding and everything I’m doing, I’m constantly learning and try to adapt.”
