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Community Federal Credit Union:
Hunt Real Estate to locate in City Centre. The Lockport Home Page has been told that Hunt Real Estate's Lockport operations will re-locate downtown into the new Ulrich City Centre. The move is expected shortly. (6/16/06)
David GMC-Cadillac Out Of Business. As reported several months ago in our Loose Lips column the long-time auto dealership has terminated its business at South Transit and Dysinger Roads. The property has been sold and the GMC dealership has moved across the street to Mike Smith. (6/16/06)
A Breath Of Spring For Downtown!
Katie Bloom has opened on Market Street, in the Bewley Building in downtown Lockport. Von Taylor, a former Channel 2 executive, is offering all kinds of things to decorate and enhance the Lockport home and garden. The opening came to Lockport with the first breeze of Spring weather and Mrs. Taylor says her business has been well received in the first several weeks.
Elsewhere in downtown there are reports of a new clothing store about ready to open in the heart of the city. Ulrich City Centre construction is nearing the completion of all the build shell work and paving. (5/27/06)
Lost
for Lockport.
The Speedway Park is out of business. The indoor speed rink
with cars for kids to bop around in closed and the building is for sale. Meanwhile
just up the street on Corinthia in Outwater Park it appears the city will have a skate
board park. A sign has appeared along with cuts in the parkland advising us the
location of the future home. We have no details but it appears the city is funding.
(5/27/06)
Harsco to cut Lockport employment by about 50%. A company spokesman indicated Friday, 5/5, that about 60 to 70 jobs would be moved out of Lockport. The company blames a high cost of production at Lockport as the main reason, saying that competition dictates they move production to other plants in the USA where costs are lower. Lockport reportedly has negative factors of old equipment, high-cost union labor, and high cost electricity. About 40 to 50 jobs will remain in Lockport when the downsizing is complete, expected to be in the fall of this year. The company had previously cut employment here by about 40 to 50 in June of 2005. (5/6/06)
Sherwood/Harsco offices in Lockport on Church Street.
West End bar closes.
Known as "Big Uglys" the West Avenue watering hole showed up closed last week. It has been open for several years and served a limited food menu for drinkers.
On Sunday, 4/23, crews were in the building cleaning restaurant
equipment which would seem to indicate a re-opening under perhaps a different name, was a
not-to-distant possibility. No explanation was posted.
Lockport has seen a slow decline in its number of bars.
(4/23/06)
Lockport Recycling: Former Upson plant now gives old tires a new market. High Tread International, Ltd., is operating out of parts of the old Upson Paperboard plant (and later, Buffalo Paperboard) off Ohio Street (photo below). Working six days a week the facility is busy shredding up old truck tires for use in a multitude of new products including mulch and pavement bases. Company sources say about one hundred trucks transport tires from mostly industrial users all over the northeast. The company even worked with New York State grant money of over $50,000 to devise a way of processing old tires through "reverse Vulcanizing." The process, however, didn't work out in the manner needed for use at Lockport. Air pollution considerations was one economic factor. For an additional photo see listing in our Industrial Index. (4/15/06)
Wal-Mart pushing for public support. The national discount retailer has a display in its Transit Road store in South Lockport asking customers to write and call Town of Lockport decision-makers in support of Walmart's move to build a "super store" where the Lockport Mall has been for decades. The proposal has drawn opposition from many town residents for over a year but the proposal is still pending. The Lockport Mall is nearly vacant of all tenants. (4/7/06)
Ownership change at DeFlippo's. It's still all in the family but at the end of summer, sources say son, Dominick, will take over from Dad and Mom, Jerry and Joan, as the principal owner/operator of DeFlippo's Italian Restaurant on West Avenue. The building also houses a small rooming house/B&B type operation. (4/10/06)
Lockport Radio Shack remains open. The national electronics company announced the closing of six stores on the Niagara Frontier this week but the outlet on South Transit Road in Lockport will remain open. It had just moved last year from a long-time address across the street in the out-going Lockport Mall. (3/25/06)
Lockport Mattress, in bankruptcy, sells controlling interest. The company headquartered along South Transit Road, announced plans this week to sell controlling interest to an out-of-state company. Lockport Mattress is in bankruptcy proceedings and has retail branch outlets in Niagara Falls, Tonawanda, and Hamburg in addition to the showroom and assembly site in the Town of Lockport. There is a warehouse in Burt. The company suffered financially when it attempted to sell Serta mattresses and other sleep products in a co-owned Sleepco area outlets. The president of Lockport Mattress, Randy Pegan, said operations at Lockport, including manufacturing and other stores, would continue. (3/23/06)
Allegheny Ludlum Steel Special Products - Layoffs have cut employment to under 50.
American Concrete - Ready mix concrete. (Emp. about 35)
Avon Automotive - Plastic molded parts (Emp about 150)
B&G Enterprises - Wood shells for tackle blocks and machine shop service. (Emp under 15)
Barry Steel Fabrication, Inc. - Steel fabrication (Emp about 25)
Buffalo Paperboard Corp. - At site of old Upson Company but with different product line. Gypsum liner papers (Emp 75+)
Cadillac Rubber & Plastic, Inc. - Plastic injection molding. (Emp 200+)
Candlelight Cabinetry - Kitchen and bath cabinets. (Emp about 50)
Chameleon Color Cards - Paint sample cards. (Emp around 50)
Chemical Design, Inc. - Big plant processing assemblies, world-wide business. Employs about 25.
C.M.S.B. Magnetics, Inc. - Magnets and magnetic materials (Emp under 15)
Converdis US, Inc. - Paper converter. (Emp under 15)
Corson Manufacturing - Folding paper cartons (Emp about 200) Now in bankrupcy, closing late April 2000
Cutting Tool Materials, Inc. - Provides metallurgical failure analysis & consultation to the metals industry, specializing in tool steels. For complete information go to their website.
Delphi-Harrison. Has its world headquarters here and is the region's major employer. Nothing in the area comes close to its impact with about 6,500 employees, most affiliated with the UAW union. Now independent of General Motors, the history of Harrison goes back a century here in Lockport. Manufacturers and designs automotive radiators, heating/cooling systems. For more informaiton go to: The Delphi-Harrison Page.
Dern/Moore Machine Company, Inc. - General machine shop. (Emp about 20)
Diversified Manufacturing - Precise machining, laser cutting. (Emp about 100)
Duraline Abrasives - New and up-coming. Named "Business of the Year 1998" (Emp 15+)
E&R Machine Corporation -Machine parts - (Emp. about 25)
Expedient Heat Treating Corporation - Heat treating of all metals (Emp under 20)
Franbilt, Inc. - Machine shop products. (Emp 30+)
Fredwal, Inc. - Radar calibration targets, high-tech electronics. (Emp under 20)
Garb-el Products, Inc. - Food waste disposal equipment (Emp under 20)
Gooding Printing - Commercial printing, binding. (Emp about 25)
Great Lakes Container (Jamestown Container) Corrugated cartons. (Emp 100+)
High Tread International, Ltd. Tire and rubber recycling plant. 490 Ohio Street.
Using recycled tires, they manufacture crumb
rubber products that can be used in everything from road resurfacing to home and
garden products. High Tread says that about 100 trucks deliver used truck tires
to this Lockport plant.
Industrial Assembly & Manufacturing, Inc. - Assembles shock absorbers. (Employes under 20)
Industrial Patterns & Molds - Wood, metal, & plastic molds, prototype parts. (Emp under 20)
International MultiFoods Corp - Bakery products (Emp 50+)
Introl Design, Inc. - Control systems, including motors, digital counters, automation design (Emp. about 25)
Jamestown Container - See Great Lakes Container
Kistner Concrete Products, Inc. - Precast concrete products. (Emp about 25)
Kohler Machine Products, Inc. - Screw machine parts (Emp about 50+)
Laser Line, Inc. - Machinery alignment equipment. (Emp under 20)
Lift-Avator - Elevators and handicapped door ways. (Emp under 15)
Lifavator expanded into Lockport Town. A few years ago the long-time Lockport City business took advantage of financial incentives to move out of the city and into the Town of Lockport Industrial Park. The company produces lift devices for those who can no longer deal with stairs. The picture shows the company's new facility at 5299 Enterprise Drive. The Town of Lockport and the Niagara County IDA have been successful in luring many such firms out of the cities of Lockport and Niagara Falls. The impact on the city tax bases have been very damaging. (3/4/06)
Lockport Assembly Company - Assembly for off-site manufacturers. Yo-yo strings.
Lockport Energy Associates - 200 MW gas-fired cogeneration power project adjacent to Delphi-Harrison
Metal Cladding, Inc. - Coatings of many types, some plating (Emp about 100)
Merritt - PMI - Equipment for producing wood veneers. (Emp less than 20)
Metcar Pipe Fabricating, Inc. - Fire protection systems, general piping. (Emp less than 15)
MRS Plating - Quality electroplating. (Emp 15+)
Milward Alloys - Aluminum and copper-based Master Alloys. (Emp 25+)
Niagara Cooler - Heat exchangers (Emp less than 15)
Niagara Fiberboard - Laminated fiber and wood panels, display boards. Evolved from the old Upson Company. (Emp 13)
Niagara Precision - Macine shop. (Emp about 25)
Ontario Label Graphics - Labels. (Emp less than 15)
Pallet-Pallet - Wood pallets (Emp 50+)
Pivot Punch Corp - Punches and cutting devices and instruments (Emp about 100)
Plaslok Corporation - Thermoset molding compounds. (Emp less than 15)
Polycom Huntsman - Compounder. Resins (Emp 50+)
Redland Quarries, Inc. - Asphalt, dolomite and agricultural limestone, concrete blocks. Former Frontier Stone facilities. (Emp about 100)
Roberts Manufacturing Co. - Special products for the paper industry. (Emp less than 15)
Sherwood Harsco (Taylor-Wharton Gas Equip. Div of Harsco Corp.) - Valves, gas regulators. (Emp near 150)
Superior Powder Coating, Inc. - Electrostatic coating of metals, finishing. (Emp less than 15)
Twin Lakes Chemical Co. Inc. - Chlorinated organic chemicals (Emp about 25)
VanClor, Inc. - Manufacturers anhydrous aluminum chloride. (Emp about 13)
VanDeMark Chemical & VanChem, Inc. VanDemark Chemical manufactures phosgene gas and is the only merchant manufacturers in the USA. VanChem uses the phosgene in to make a wide variety of phosgene derivatives including isocyanates, chloroformates, and specialized organic chemical intermediates. As of November 1999 began operating as a subsidary of ISOCHEM which is in turn a subsidary of SNPE Groupe, a large French chemical manufacturing firm. (Emp about 90).
Von Dungen, Emil, Inc. - Sheet metal fabrication. (Emp 20+)
Wire Weld USA - Metal store displays (Emp about 20)
The manufacturing base is well diversified. There is extensive additional space in the area available for small and medium size industries to move right in. Harrison Square, formed from a part of the Harrison plant in the center of the city, has leased space available. Harrison-Delphi is still taking a large part of this complex. About ten companies are tenants here now, some high tech. An industrial park, next to the giant Delphi-Harrison complex on the city's northwest boundry also has room for industry.
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