About 250 business, government, community and economic developments leaders attended the GCEDC Annual Meeting and Luncheon on Friday afternoon at Batavia Downs.
According to NYS EDC, Genesee County has 8 shovel-ready sites across Genesee County, 37 businesses attracted or retained by these shovel-ready sites,1,150 jobs directly located at shovel-ready sites(2018),$809 million in annual economic output generated by tenants at shovel-ready sites, 9% of Genesee County employment related directly or indirectly to shovel ready site-tenants.
The theme of the 2020 annual meeting was “Success Starts Here”, touting the growth of Batavia’s food and beverage hub. However, Genesee County is also now experiencing growth in the manufacturing area after 50 years in decline, according to Steve Hyde, Pres./CEO of GCEDC.
According to GCEDC, in the past ten years, companies in the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park and surrounding companies have invested over $500 million into facilities that employ over 700 professionals and operate over 1 million square feet of operations. The event focused on the GCEDC’s business accomplishments in 2019 and economic development goals and objectives for 2020.
HP Hood was honored as the 2020 Economic Development Partner of the Year. Their growth, along with 22 more companies in Genesee County, led to investments of over $60 million in 2019, with pledges of 200 new jobs and over 800 sustained jobs, according to GCEDC.
HP Hood has invested more than $200 million in expanding, improving, and operating its 448,000 square-foot facility at the Agri-Business Park. The facility occupies 82 acres, and the company recently purchased 22 additional acres for future growth.
HP Hood is one of the country’s largest branded food and beverage companies with 13 manufacturing plants throughout the United States. More than 250 food and beverage professionals are now employed at HP Hood’s Batavia facility in the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park. Theresa Bresten, Vice President and Treasurer for HP Hood, accepted the award on behalf of the company.
“Since opening its doors in Genesee County in 2017, HP Hood has been a model for success,” said GCEDC President and CEO Steve Hyde. “The company continues to create jobs and is the latest success story in Genesee County’s proud dairy industry.”
“HP Hood is honored to have been selected as the GCEDC 2020 Partner of the Year,” said Hood spokesperson Theresa Bresten. “We’re proud of the work we’ve done together to bring new jobs to the local community. We look forward to continuing our partnership with GCEDC in enriching the economy of Genesee County and New York.”
Ryan Silva, Executive Director of the New York State Economic Development Council was the keynote speaker for the Annual Meeting.
The New York State Economic Development Council is the state’s principal organization representing the mission of professionals engaged in economic, community and workforce development.
Its members include Industrial Development Agencies, Local Development Corporations, commercial and investment banks, private businesses, utilities, chambers of commerce, and higher education institutions across New York.
“I am excited to be able to share with the GCEDC’s stakeholders how Genesee County and its partners are achieving economic growth,” Silva said. “This is an important time for our state to continue to grow our economy, and Genesee County’s strong vision and development strategy is showing the results we want to expand across New York.”
It was State Senator Michael Ranzenhofer’s last meeting as he is retiring at the end of 2020. He was presented with a silver shovel after his comments to business, government and community leaders on hand.
Assemblyman Steve Hawley also attended the Annual Meeting and offered his view on the Economic climate in New York state.
Empire State Development, Vincent Esposito, representing Gov. Cuomo, also made brief comments at the meeting.