Highlight & Impact Study 2000

CCIC’s Economic Impact Tops
4,430 New Jobs and $484 Million in Annual Sales

Alfred & Painted Post, NY—In the eight years since receing funding from the state legislature, the two business incubators operated as the Ceramics Corridor Innovations Centers (CCIC) by Alfred Technology Resources, Inc. (ATRI) have become an important factor in both the development of the ceramics, glass, and advanced materials industry in New York and the economic growth of the Southern Tier region.

According to a recent impact study by ATRI, the facilities, located in Alfred near Alfred University, and in Painted Post just outside of Corning, have created a total of 1,775 hi-tech jobs. Altogether, 20 new businesses have been created through the incubators, and 11 businesses have graduated to off-site locations, where they continue to thrive.

And in terms of the spin-off effect, the 1,775 direct jobs created to date have generated more than 2,660 additional support and service jobs, based on the normal industry assumption of 1.5 indirect jobs for every technology job.

How well are these hi-tech companies doing? Last year alone, current tenants and graduates combined to generate more than $484 million in sales. Total sales since the inception of the program are over $884 million.

Advanced materials ceramics-related businesses also contributed to the regional economy last year to the tune of $53 million in wages paid to employees. Since 1992, companies tied to the Alfred and Painted Post facilities have paid out more than $308 million in wages and salaries.

In terms of more direct contributions to the region's—and the state's—economy, these companies on the grow have spent $67 million in construction, using New York-based construction companies. Local municipalities have developed supporting sewer and water infrastructure amounting to $200,000. In terms of taxes added to the state's coffers, the employees of CCIC-related companies paid $6 million in individual income taxes in 1999, and have paid $20 million in taxes (not including sales and corporate franchise taxes since 1999.

“When CCIC was created eight years ago, the goal was to create a total of 1,000 new jobs by the year 2000,” points out executive director Jon Wilder. “The fact that more than 4,430 direct and indirect jobs have resulted from this effort translates into an impact of 400% of the original goal.”

And strictly in terms of investment, the State of New York originally spent some $10 million to get CCIC up and running. The payback has come in the form of $308 million in payroll and $20 million in New York State taxes. “In other words,” notes Wilder, “for each dollar originally invested by the state, CCIC has generated nearly $31 in salaries and more than $2 in state taxes to date.

The Painted Post and Alfred facilities currently total 70,000 square feet of incubator space, with 40,000 of that at Painted Post. The current roster of 11 tenants includes 10 operating businesses and one graduate firm using clean-room space for R&D projects. The Painted Post facility is fully occupied; the Alfred facility is 90% occupied and is expected to be fully rented by May. A major expansion program for one the Painted Post facility is in the early planning stages.

Alfred Technology Resources Inc. (ATRI) was created through the efforts of Alfred University and Corning Incorporated, with funding assistance from the State of New York, to serve as the focal point for the development of the ceramics, glass, and advanced materials in the Southern Tier region. Its business incubators providing a wide range of support services and technical assistance to emerging firms and rank among the most successful ceramics incubators in the world with a business success rate of 94%. The organization has been cited by the National Business Incubation Association as one of the best-managed two-location incubators.

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