Saint-Gobain Ceramics & Plastics Inc., the local affiliate of Paris-based Saint-Gobain Corp., is expected to start work this year on a $41.5 million expansion that will see a 125,000-square-foot new plant developed on the site of a former Bell Aerospace complex on Walmore Road in the Town of Niagara.
Part of Saint-Gobain’s growing Niagara Falls presence, the plant could see 30 new workers hired - adding to the 63 already employed by the company’s regional operations.
At $41.5 million, the deal represents a major private sector investment and one of the largest planned for Niagara County this year.
Pyramid Brokerage’s David Schiller, who represents the property owner, said the deal was put together with the help of the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency and shows why foreign companies remain interested in the region.
“This is a French company investing in the area. In the last three months, we have done multiple deals with Canadian companies that want and need to be in Western New York,” Schiller said.
The expansion will see Saint-Gobain develop a new line of ceramic catalyst carriers used in such industries as energy, biofuels, and refineries. Some R&D in specialty industrial powders will also take place in the new plant.
A second expansion phase, already in the works by Saint-Gobain, could see another 175,000-square-feet developed at the site, giving the Fortune 500 firm 300,000-square-feet of new Niagara County space.
Schiller said the Saint-Gobain deal could lead to other foreign investment dollars coming into the region.
“You can get, in the Niagara region, power for manufacturing, and you can get sites that are large enough for industrial outdoor storage, two elements of industrial real estate that are in very high demand right now,” Schiller said.
Why the Western New York region?
“We don't have all our eggs in one basket with one huge manufacturer, the golden horseshoe north of us in Ontario needs options for expansion of their businesses from Canada and for presence in the United States,” Schiller said.
The NCIDA directors are expected to begin their review of the Saint-Gobain project on Feb. 12. The construction is on pace to start later this year.
