A North Tonawanda business plans to boost its workforce in order to produce a new line of materials. New York State is offering some financial help to make it happen.
An-Cor Plastics manufactures custom fiberglass applications including pipes, stacks and tanks. The company currently employs 45 people but is planning to add 23 new positions in order to begin production of additional materials.
"This project's going to allow us to go into dual laminate, which means combining thermal plastics with fiberglass," said company president Merrill Arthur. "Then we can address different types of services."
New York State, through its Excelsior program, will provide $200,000 in tax breaks once those jobs are created. Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Hochul visited An-Cor Plastics on Friday morning to help announce the new jobs. She also praised the Excelsior program, saying it is reversing a long trend of manufacturing leaving the region.
"As someone who grew up here and saw way too many headlines of the jobs that were fleeing, not the least of which was Bethlehem Steel where my father and grandfather worked, it is a very positive atmosphere now," Hochul said. "I'm very proud to continue working with Governor Cuomo as we make more success stories like An-Cor be the norm and no longer the exception."
Arthur stated that the expansion may double the company's business.
"We're a great group of employees," he said. "They've got lots of experience. They've got the desire to do it right. That makes us one of the best fiberglass shops in the country. I probably should say in the universe."
