Photo by Howard Owens.
A homegrown company is growing again.
On Wednesday, Oxbo International hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking at its future 195,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at 7101 South Lake Road, Bergen.
The new factory, situated on 49.7 acres, will replace the existing plant at 7275 Byron Road, Byron.
"We outgrew our facility back in the late 90s. So, 25 years later, we finally thought we should do something about it," said Joe Perzia, president of Oxbo. "We're a little slow on the uptake. Over the years, we've prided ourselves on lean manufacturing principles and tried to get as much production through a tiny space as possible. But being resourceful, some say frugal, has its limitations. This is no longer suitable for going company, so with the full support and encouragement of our shareholders, we are moving forward in this new chapter."
The new location is part of the GCEDC-created industrial park, Apple Tree Acres, which already includes Liberty Pumps, Craft Cannery ), All Season Party Tent Rentals, GE Renewable Energy, Insurance Auto Auctions, and Leonard Bus Sales.
The $43 million project is expected to create 140 jobs initially with plans to add 60 more.
Financial assistance for the project has come from Genesee County Economic Development Center and Empire State Development.
GCEDC's assistance is in the form of sales tax exemptions estimated at approximately $1.75 million, a property tax abatement of approximately $2.15 million via payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT), and a mortgage tax exemption of $366,000.
Additionally, ESD award Apple Tree Acres a $1.26 million grant that supports needed electrical infrastructure upgrades, including improvements to the electrical substation and distribution lines, increasing the capacity to serve anticipated load growth. The upgrades are expected to assist not just the new facility, but the rest of the industrial park.
Assemblyman Steve Hawley praised Oxbo as a local success story.
"Oxbo is a shining example of the entrepreneurial spirit being alive and well in Western New York, and I couldn't be more thrilled with the work they'll be doing following this groundbreaking. We've got more jobs on the horizon, more focus on the importance of the agriculture industry in this state and across the world, and more faith in our farmers with these continued investments in farming technology."
Oxbo began in Byron as a pallet repair business and then became Byron Equipment after filing for a patent on a corn head -- a mechanism to attach to the front of a combine that picks ears of corn off of stalks, leaving the stock behind.
The company then grew through mergers and acquisitions.
In 1998, Byon Equipment acquired a competitor in Wisconsin, and the new management team settled on the name Oxbo, after an oxbow that yolks and ox team together, to symbolize the concept of the new two integrated teams pulling together.
Both plants stayed in production.
In 2003, Oxbo acquired a pea-picking combine company in Illinois and moved that manufacturing operation to Byron. Oxbo is the only manufacturer of a pea-picking combine in the U.S.
In 2004, Oxbo acquired a fruit company in Washington state, and this past June, the company acquired another company in Wisconsin.
However, one of the biggest mergers occurred in 2009, when Oxbo merged with its largest customer in Europe and moved its headquarters to the Netherlands.
The company also operates plants in Brazil, the United Kingdom, and France.
Oxbo employs about 1,200 people in total, 700 in the U.S. The company's gross annual revenue exceeds $400 million.
Shelley Stein, chairwoman of the County Legislature, noted how the grit and determination of a local farmer, Richard 'Lefty' Glazer, to take an entrepreneurial leap and create a copay that now serves a worldwide agricultural industry.
"Homegrown talent and skills joined up with innovation then and now have created the need to continue that growth in supporting agribusiness in our county, our region and our world," Stein said. "Genesee County commends Oxbo for their continued growth and expansion."
Photo by Howard Owens.
Photo by Howard Owens.
Image from planning documents.
