Metroplex announces new occupant for Super Steel plant December 16, 2009 at 1:06 pm by Eric Anderson
Dimension Fabricators, a company that makes reinforcing steel for concrete structures, will consolidate its operations at the vacant former Super Steel Schenectady plant in Glenville, Schenectady County officials announced this morning.
Dimension, founded in 1984, now employs nearly 60 people, and Ray Gillen, chair of the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority, said employment could increase to as many as 85 in the next three years.
Dimension had outgrown its space on Maxon Road Extension in Schenectady, where it occupies four buildings, and had rented space at the former Alco plant in Schenectady that it also has filled. In some cases, employees worked outside on the massive steel-rod structures.
“This will get us under one roof,” said Scott Stevens, Dimension’s CEO.
The new plant, which Super Steel vacated eight months ago, provides more than three acres of enclosed space with rail spurs in the building and heavy-duty overhead cranes. Super Steel had built locomotives and other railroad equipment at the plant, but announced more than a year ago that it would close in April of this year because of a steep decline in locomotive orders.
Dimension will invest $5 million to acquire the building and equip it.
“In an era when a lot of communities are really struggling, we think it’s a big victory that we were able to sell this building in eight months,” said Susan Savage, chair of the Schenectady County Legislature. “It’s another example of homegrown businesses helping us to rebuild the economy.”
Dimension’s steel has been used in the Lake Placid Lug track, the GlobalFoundries building under construction in Malta, and the new parking garage being built at Albany Medical Center. It also provided some of the steel used in the expansion at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany, and its steel was used in Boston’s Central Artery project, commonly called the Big Dig.
A large tube consisting of a latticework of steel rods that served as a backdrop for a press conference this morning is headed to the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge project on Interstate 95 in New Haven, Conn., Stevens said.
William Carr, who served as general manager of the Super Steel plant, attended the press announcement this morning.
“I’m glad it’s going to be put to use,” he said of the building that had assembled locomotives for the Long Island Rail Road, Union Pacific Railroad, and others. Carr will assist Dimension as it relocates its operations to the new building.
Dimension had outgrown its space on Maxon Road Extension in Schenectady, where it occupies four buildings, and had rented space at the former Alco plant in Schenectady that it also has filled.
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“In an era when a lot of communities are really struggling, we think it’s a big victory that we were able to sell this building in eight months,” said Susan Savage, chair of the Schenectady County Legislature. “It’s another example of homegrown businesses helping us to rebuild the economy.”
Our County Chair claims a victory by vacating 4 buildings in Schenectady County to occupy 1. Are people so stupid as not to catch on to this shell game?
I took a class in sales once. I can remember the part about "selling the sizzle" and not the steak. That's what this article is an example of. It dazzles the reader about all the nuts and bolts of Dimension and the projects they worked on, and how the GM of Super Steel is glad the building is put to use, and will assist Dimension as it relocates. While glancing over the fact that the Chair is claiming victory for a 4 to 1 trade off, and taking credit for creating 4 vacant buildings in Schenectady County. What a fluff piece.
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Dimension, founded in 1984, now employs nearly 60 people, and Ray Gillen, chair of the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority, said employment could increase to as many as 85 in the next three years.
I'm sure Ray Gillen and Metroplex will add these 85 potential jobs to their total number of jobs created, that they take credit for. Even though we are just shuffling jobs within the County.
Dimension, founded in 1984, now employs nearly 60 people, and Ray Gillen, chair of the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority, said employment could increase to as many as 85 in the next three years.
The statement re: employment numbers uses the word "to", not "by". The news reports on the radio stated that Dimension currently employs ~60 and that an additional 25 positions may be created in the future.
Just another re-location. The shuffle. So will they get plex money and tax breaks to 'move' a few blocks?
And then you have Suzie Savage announcing it like it was news worthy. And Gillen, like this was an economic improvement/development.
It's a business that will move from one location to a new location a few blocks away. Same city, same numbers of employees....sameole same ole'!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Funny, nobody can seem to get the numbers right here:
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Dimension Fabricators to add 14K square feet to Sch'dy facility Wednesday, September 3, 2008 By Michael Lamendola (Contact) Gazette Reporter
SCHENECTADY — Dimension Fabricators will construct a 14,000-square-foot addition to its facility on Maxon Road Extension, eventually adding four jobs to its 40-person staff, officials announced Wednesday.
Dimension will also purchase manufacturing equipment, overhead cranes and add 300 feet of new rail as part of its investment. Construction will start in November.
What happened to the construction and addition that they were going to start in November - ~30 days ago? They only had 40 jobs in September according to their own report.
Statements by Schenectady County Officials on Restore NY Grant Share Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 10:13am Susan E. Savage, Chair of the Schenectady County Legislature said, “Redevelopment of the Alco property and reconnecting our community to the riverfront has been a top priority of mine. This property represents 60 acres of prime riverfront property in the heart of Schenectady County. I want to thank Governor Paterson for his unprecedented commitment to Schenectady County and to rebuilding the upstate economy.”
Schenectady Mayor Brian U. Stratton said, “We are very grateful to Governor Paterson and Empire State Development for selecting the Alco project for a $4 million grant from the Restore New York program. Alco is an ideal application for Restore New York. This funding will allow us to clean up this site and bring new jobs to our community in much the same way that we are developing another part of the former Alco plant for the Golub Headquarters project.”
Ray Gillen, Commissioner of Economic Development in Schenectady County and Metroplex Chair said, “This funding will allow us to continue to create a new vision for the Alco site. This key riverfront parcel is a key gateway to Glenville and to downtown. Cleaning up this site will create an outstanding opportunity to bring new jobs and new tax base to Schenectady County. The Restore NY grant will be a critical component in the success of this project.”
ALCO Site Key Facts
60 acre site, with 3,446 feet of river front (2/3rds of a mile) on Mohawk River.
American Locomotive Company (ALCO) began manufacturing at site in 1848.
ALCO closed in 1969.
Site has 800,000 square feet of space – mostly larger brick buildings used to assemble locomotives.
STS Steel and Dimension Fabricators use two buildings and a portion of a third building with approximately 100 jobs. Goal is to rehab and preserve a portion of the site retaining ALCO heritage. The majority of the site will be developed as tech office, riverfront access/green space and housing.
The statement re: employment numbers uses the word "to", not "by". The news reports on the radio stated that Dimension currently employs ~60 and that an additional 25 positions may be created in the future.
I understand it say to 85 job. Meaning a net 25 gained. But I don't think that will stop Metroplex from using the whole 85 number when they put out their propaganda stating how many jobs they take credit for creating. Not to mention, who to say these jobs wouldn't have been created in their current location-in Schenectady County. It should be net jobs gained in Schenectady County-ZERO
The articles that you posted were published exactly one year apart. One is from Sep. 3, 2008. The other Sep. 3, 2009. Further, the 2009 article says that STS Steel and Dimension (together) account for approximately 100 jobs.
Steel plant heads to Glenville Dimension Fabricators expanding into former Super Steel plant BY AMEERAH CETAWAYO Gazette Reporter
Dimension Fabricators is buying the former Super Steel plant and 21 surrounding acres in the Glenville Business and Technology Park. The $5 million deal is expected to close this month and bring 25 jobs to the area within three years, according to Dimension CEO Scott Stevens. The news comes just six weeks after Dimension received approval from the Schenectady Planning Commission to add a building to its Maxon Road Extension site. When Stevens began to price out the expansion, he found that the estimated $2.5 million investment would have resulted in only an incremental improvement that still would have left the company under five roofs — its four buildings on Maxon Road Extension totaling 49,000 square feet and a 50,000-squarefoot site at the former Alco plant on Erie Boulevard. “He would have run out of land at some point,” said Ray Gillen, Metroplex Development Authority chairman and commissioner of economic development and planning for Schenectady County. Metroplex had shown the Super Steel building to Stevens a year ago, Gillen said. Purchasing the 152,000-squarefoot facility in Glenville sparks a process of consolidation for Dimension, which will sell the Maxon Road Extension location, Stevens said. Dimension expects to begin production in Glenville by March. The maker of concrete reinforcing steel products has continued to grow in Schenectady County since 1984, when it opened in the Rotterdam Industrial Park. The company later moved to the old American Locomotive Co. campus, now known as the Nott Street Industrial Park, in 1988. Ten years later the company moved to a building on Maxon in 1998. Employment has doubled in recent years from 30 to 60 workers as Dimension provided materials for the Interstate 95 widening project in New Haven, the New Jersey Turnpike, the Boston Central Artery project and local projects such as construction at Albany Medical Center. The expansion comes at time the steel industry continues to see consolidation, putting Dimension in the awkward position of being in competition with its suppliers, which are steel mills. “There are fewer of us and those that are left are bigger,” he said. Stevens said he is being conservative with growth projections, though business has been favorable. As 2009 comes to a close, the company has seen a 20 percent jump in sales. SITE WAS SUPER STEEL Dimension’s move follows misfortune for another company, Super Steel, which shut down operations in April. The supplier to locomotive manufacturers felt the back end of a sharp decline in orders, according to William Carr, Super Steel’s former plant manager. He is helping Dimension move. “For Dimension, it’s a great facility for what they’re going to do,” Carr said. The Galesi Group said it will buy an additional nine acres of land from Super Steel to expand the Glenville Business and Technology Park, creating “one of the best shovel-ready sites in the Capital Region,” according to Galesi Group Chief Operating Officer David Buicko. Site cleanup finished in late summer and clean fill was added to level the site, he said. The Schenectady County Industrial Development Authority met Wednesday morning and approved the project, granting an exemption from mortgage recording tax and sales tax for building materials and equipment to be used to improve the building. The deal also includes an extension of a payment in lieu of taxes agreement in place for Super Steel that will result in full payment of local property taxes for the five years when Dimension is eligible for real estate property tax credits, the agency said. Schenectady County Legislator Susan Savage said while the pace of economic development has slowed around the country, the area continues to move forward, building on new of more jobs coming to the area from General Electric. Job creation as a key to growing the economy remains a focus, not just in downtown areas, which may be more visible, she said. “This is an example of another homegrown company reinvesting in Schenectady County,” Savage said.
The articles that you posted were published exactly one year apart. One is from Sep. 3, 2008. The other Sep. 3, 2009. Further, the 2009 article says that STS Steel and Dimension (together) account for approximately 100 jobs.
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