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Contec lays off 132, ends production in Schenectady

By PAUL NELSON, Staff writer
Last updated: 9:26 a.m., Friday, July 24, 2009

SCHENECTADY - Contec Holdings Ltd., a set-top cable-box repair company, laid off 132 workers at its Schenectady plant this morning and plans to end production at the facility, according to a company official at the scene.

The layoffs happened early this morning, according to Contec. Roughly 100 laborers lost their jobs and with the remaining job cuts coming from management positions.

Chief Operating Officer Carroll W. Foreman Jr. said the Schenectady facility will remain open, but production will cease at that location. It is the second time since 2007 that Contec has laid off more than 100 people.

During a speech to employees this morning, Foreman blamed the job cuts on the economic pressures the company faces in a down economy.

"The employees were surprisingly understanding," Foreman said. "There were zero outbursts or ill effect."

When the company expanded in Schenectady earlier this decade it was touted as a stable employer that was drawing workers from the city's burgeoning Guyanese population.

But the company has undergone ownership changes in recent years.

Today's layoffs are the second since 2007 at the State Street plant. That year, Contec laid off 131 workers, according to documents filed at the time with the state Department of Labor.

In 2007, Contec was believed to employ 500 people in Schenectady and more than 2,100 company-wide.

A few years ago, the company's management and American Capital Strategies Ltd. of Bethesda, Md., teamed up to acquire the 29-year-old company. At the time, Carroll W. Foreman Jr., senior vice president of plant operations and a member of the buyout group, said Contec was thriving and American Capital would not step in.

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VStream and Contec to Lease Space at Former Nova Bus Plant
May 19, 2005

Schenectady, N.Y., May 19, 2005 -- Town of Niskayuna officials joined Schenectady County leaders and Metroplex today to announce plans by two companies to lease space at the former Nova Bus Plant on Hillside Avenue.    V Stream and Contec plan to lease over 63,000 square feet of space as efforts continue to re-use the former bus manufacturing plant.   Once final leases are signed with these two tenants, the former Nova plant will be more than 70% occupied. The existing 190,000 square foot building and adjoining acreage is now called the Niskayuna Tech Park.



Susan E. Savage, Chair of the Schenectady County Legislature said, “Last week, we announced new tenants for the former Trustco and MVP Buildings in downtown Schenectady.  This week we are proud to announce two new tenants at the former Nova Bus plant as we turn this former industrial site into a business park for growing tech companies.   Schenectady County’s new unified economic development effort is filling empty buildings, creating jobs and tax base consistent with smart growth practices as we focus on existing sites rather than open space.”



Luke Smith, Supervisor of the Town of Niskayuna said, “We are very pleased that two growth companies will occupy space at the Niskayuna Tech Park.  With the completion of the new 67,000 square foot Unilux Manufacturing Plant at the Tech Park, the opening of a new access road and the steady progress we are making in filling the former Nova space, we are creating a smart growth business park that will generate jobs and additional tax base for our residents.”

  

The former Nova Bus Plant is owned by Rotterdam General Contracting (RGC) in cooperation with two private partners, Mr. Robert Williams and Mr. Gary Burton.  RGC is working closely with Metroplex to market the site formerly known as Hillside Commerce Park as the Niskayuna Tech Park.   Current tenants include Tire Conversion Technology and Unilux Advanced Manufacturing.   In addition to the 190,000 square foot industrial building that one housed Nova Bus, the site also includes the new Unilux facility, almost 150 additional acres of land, a new access road and Empire Zone benefits.   The Niskayuna Tech Park is located close to Environment One, the headquarters of Schenectady International and the headquarters of GE Global Research.



Robert T. Farley, Minority Leader of the Schenectady County Legislature said, “This is a wonderful redevelopment of an important commercial site within our community.  Perhaps even more exciting is the fact that the two companies involved, Contec and VStream, have been locally grown companies, which have demonstrated a great history of success in Schenectady County.  Their expansion at the former Nova Bus site would expand our tax base, provide more job opportunities and demonstrate that the creative use of existing commercial space can prove of mutual benefit to both private sector businesses and Schenectady alike. I would like to thank VStream and Contec for their continued commitment to our community and its work force."



VStream is a world class supplier of precision metal components to GE Power Systems and other clients.  The company owns a 55,000 square foot plant in Rotterdam.  VStream needs expansion space to handle new and existing customers. The company will lease 20,000 square feet with an option to take an additional 14,000 square feet creating 8 new jobs.  The company currently employs over 40 people in Rotterdam.  



David W. Dussault, Chief Operating Officer at VStream said, “We are a fast-paced, high growth company intent on bringing manufacturing back to the Capital Region.  We are pursuing a global customer base and providing high-skilled, secure jobs for our employees.  The addition of the Niskayuna Tech Park space is our first step in supporting our current growth and is positioning us for the addition of new equipment and services to enter new markets aggressively.”  



Contec Holdings, LLC is a leader in the repair of digital cable boxes.   The company plans to occupy over 43,000 square feet at the Niskayuna Tech Park to perform an assortment of processes and tests on cable boxes to further improve the Schenectady Plant’s efficiencies.   Contec employs almost 500 workers at its existing plant in Schenectady.



Carroll Foreman, Jr., Senior Vice President of Operations for Contec  said, “We are excited about finalizing the arrangements on the Hillside site and are looking forward to expanding our business as soon as possible at that location. “



“We are now more than two- thirds of the way there in leasing up the former Nova plant and we are actively marketing this space,” said Ray Gillen Metroplex Chair and Commissioner of Economic Development and Planning in Schenectady County.  “We welcome this decision by two Schenectady County businesses to stay and grow here at the Niskayuna Tech Park.”

  

Town officials are working closely with the developers of the business park and Metroplex to insure that any proposed use is consistent with a master plan for the site adopted in 2004.   The Town Planning Board will act on the proposal at its next meeting on June 6th.  



For more information about the Niskayuna Tech Park, businesses should contact Frank Marotta at Rotterdam General Contracting at 376-2699 or Hendrik Pruyn at 369-6262.



More information may also be found at http://www.schenectadymetroplex.org.

Quoted from benny salami

Somebody needs to get a hold of Metrograft's Death Ray in Jamaica and get his take on this disgrace. Contec employed over 250 people back in the day. Now, under his watch it's closing in Schenectady. More production workers out of work. Another empty building on sad State Street in Vale.

     Yeah the KRATS were wise to oppose a new Walgreen's on State and Brandywine-we don't need the jobs and the empty parking lot is much better? Talk about clueless on economic development.