Transcript
ANDRONIKOS GEORGALAS: Topping the news this hour, ground was broken at the future site of J.W. Didado Electric in Clay. But Zach Kopelman learned that officials and businesses alike see this as a small part of something substantial.
ZACH KOPELMAN: There was clear excitement on the construction site in Clay today, but it’s not all about the present. County Executive Ryan McMahon says projects like J.W. Didado and Micron will be a boon for future economic expansion.
RYAN McMAHON: Certainly, this is one of those wins we’re going to see more and more of in this community.
ZACH: McMahon says, in the future, he wants businesses to see Onondaga County as a hub for computer manufacturing. VIP Structures CEO Meg Tidd says construction will continue to pick up steam with the support of local government.
MEG TIDD: When you have a project like this and it’s visible and people can see it, there is something about wanting to be a part of that and continue that.
ZACH: J.W. Didado says location and infrastructure were key in their decision to come to Clay. Zach Kopelman, NCC News.
CLAY, N.Y. (NCC News) — When Dan Sublett took over as president of J.W. Didado Electric in June, plans were already underway to bring the company to Clay. But in an under-construction lot that will one day be home to the new facility, his predecessor Gary Didado revealed that while the project has been announced for a while, Central New York was part of the vision long before Sublett took the reins.
“What Dan didn’t know, and didn’t tell you, was that this whole project started a little over three years ago,” Didado, who now manages construction for the project, revealed. “But they’ve got the whole future ahead of them.”
On the site of J.W. Didado’s planned facility, people involved in the project discuss and celebrate the future.
Didado’s vision for his company aligns with where Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon envisions the region going: an industry-rich area that attracts business from all over. McMahon sees electrical companies like J.W. Didado, in addition to industries like supply-chain management, profiting immensely from the Micron chip plant.
“Central New York has been recognized globally as the future home and hub of semiconductor manufacturing,” McMahon said. “It’s going to allow that to grow even more than the commitment they made today.”
Executives at Didado said two large reasons they chose the Town of Clay are its location and infrastructure. The town’s proximity to the airport, the I-81 project improving the highways, and the Micron plant were all cited as reasons for their deal picking up speed this year. The company says it provides a variety of services to a wide range of customers; from small, in-home electrical projects to wiring large corporate and industrial projects.
Government improvement on infrastructure recently was of note by Didado executives at the groundbreaking. Other companies are picking up on these infrastructure investments too, according to VIP Structures CEO Meg Tidd.
VIP Structures CEO Meg Tidd believes government support will be the key to economic growth in CNY.
“I think all of the officials from the town of Clay and the surrounding areas are going to great lengths to make it a business-friendly area,” Tidd said. “And that makes all of the differences. So from my perspective I absolutely see development continuing and more great things coming to this area.”
J.W. Didado has already seen the effects of what Tidd called a “business-friendly” government. In June, the company was granted around $680,000 in tax breaks on their $8 million dollar project, according to documents from the Onondaga County Office of Economic Development. This includes more than $320,000 in sales tax exemptions for materials and more than $300,000 in property tax reduction for the next 15 years.