By Nicole Coleman<br><a href="mailto:colemann@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Nicole</a>
The Journal-Register
May 13, 2008 05:51 pm
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A privately owned company with a 16-year presence in the Town of Ridgeway will add 50 employees to its operation within the next two years.
Brunner Inc., 3959 Bates Road, laid the foundation for a 41,250-square-foot, single-story addition on the northeast side of the plant last week, said company Vice President Brad MacDonald.
The structure will go up in approximately three weeks, depending on the weather, and will match the metal, salt-box design of the present building.
Machinery for the expanded manufacturing facility will arrive over the next few months. The plan is to start production by the end of the year.
“It is the biggest project at one time that we have ever taken on,” MacDonald said. “It was something we had to act quickly on.”
A manufacturer of brake components for heavy duty trucks, Brunner’s Medina location opened with fewer than 10 employees as a fledgling business. The company added on to the existing building over the years and now has 250 full-time employees.
This expansion will add 20 employees the first year and 30 employees the second year.
“They are going to be higher paying, somewhat skilled jobs,” MacDonald said. “We will offer training to the candidates.”
The Orleans County Industrial Development Agency has coordinated with Brunner to make the expansion financially possible, said Vice President Gabrielle Barone. The company applied for and received low-cost hydropower from the Niagara Power Project. The company has also received Empire State Development incentives, she said.
The 36-acre parcel of land next door to Brunner was first purchased by the IDA, Barone said. Three of the acres will be purchased by Brunner; the rest contains metal remnants from a former foundry in that location.
The IDA and Land Restoration Corp. is in the process of conducting the state environmental quality review so that the land can be remediated for future use and put back on the tax rolls, said President Jim Whipple. The land to be utilized by Brunner was clean.
Total capital investment in the project is $12 million to 13 million, Barone said. The bulk of the project cost is machinery.
The County Planning Board and the Ridgeway Planning and Zoning Boards approved the project in April and May. It is located in an industrial district as part of the county’s comprehensive plan.
Any run-off from the building will follow a drainage ditch along the south side of the building and flow eastward into a creek just off of the site. A federal wetland located southwest of the plant will not be affected, according to the engineer’s report.
Should Brunner add exterior lighting around the new addition, it will not produce a glare off of the premises.
“It is a definite commitment on our part to the community and the employees,” MacDonald said. “We intend to be here for the long haul.”
Brunner has a second location in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Its products are shipped across North America, as well as Internationally.
Contact reporter Nicole Colemanat 798-1400, ext. 2227.
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