News

Lorenzo aids in bid for Airbus

Published: 3/22/2005

City firm involved in bid to bring Airbus plant to WNY

Reprinted from an article in the Dunkirk Evening Observer, Mar 22, 2005.

The Niagara Falls site was among four locations competing to be in the state´s submission to Airbus.

´´New York state has worked diligently with four excellent locations that were interested in responding to the proposal as a possible U.S. location for EADS,´´ said ESD Chairman Charles Gargano. ´´We had to narrow the selection to the three sites we think will be the most competitive in the nationwide search with the possibility of bringing these engineering jobs to New York state.´´

Buffalo Niagara Enterprise collaborated on the Niagara Falls Airport proposal with ESD, the Niagara County Center for Economic Development, the NFTA, Niagara Mohawk, National Fuel and the town of Niagara. Two private sector firms, Lorenzo International Inc. of Dunkirk and Great Lakes Towing, joined the effort to help identify logistics solutions for the airport site.

The team of agencies will continue working together to finalize the formal submission to Airbus.

´´We are delighted that Niagara Falls has made it to the second round of the Airbus competition,´´ said Thomas Kucharski, BNE president and CEO. ´´With its 9,800-foot runway, abundant skilled workforce and historic ties to the aviation industry, the town of Niagara is a natural for the project.´´

More than 30 states will be submitting up to three sites each to Airbus and its parent firm EADS North America. The French-based manufacturer plans a $600 million facility that would employ about 1,100 workers.

´´With multiple sites being submitted from more than 30 states, competition for the Airbus facility will be extremely strong. Nonetheless, we feel the Niagara Falls Airport site has what Airbus is looking for, and should be as strong as any site that´s in the running,´´ Kucharski said. ´´Whether this site is chosen by Airbus, it´s selected by ESD is evidence of the location´s great potential for economic development,´´ he added. ´´We plan to continue working with this team of partners to pursue future opportunities for development around the airport.´´

U.S. Representative Louise Slaughter (D-28th District) welcomed the Niagara Falls airport selection.

´´This is great news for Niagara County and Western New York. I have been pleased to coordinate with local officials and lobby EADS CEO Ralph Crosby and am committed to doing everything in my power to advance our chances,´´ Slaughter said. ´´The chance to get EADS Airbus to locate their new facility at the Niagara Falls Airport is a tremendous economic boon with the potential to create 1,100 new jobs. The effort that will be required to bring this project home will be extensive. But it is worth it to leverage our resources at the airport and create new good-paying jobs.´´

EADS North America and Airbus are conducting a national search for its 1.5 million square foot aerial refueling aircraft assembly plant. The firm is competing for a Pentagon contract to convert its A330 jetliners into Air Force refueling tankers to replace the military´s aging KC-135 fleet.

Formal proposals are due to be submitted to Airbus by March 30, with a final decision on location of the plant expected late this year.

Earlier this year, Dunkirk-based ATS Sureway New York inc. integrated its transportation services with its warehousing and distribution and real estate acquisitions to form Lorenzo International Inc.

´´As we continue to expand and enhance our operation, the time had come to combine all of our companies under one name to better reflect the diversity of our firm,´´ said company Vice President Greg Lorenzo.

´´This change offered us an opportunity to reintroduce our company and the full range of services we provide such as ground and air transportation, temporary and long-term storage and distribution and real estate services which include residential and commercial leasing and acquisitions.´´

Lorenzo International, located in the Lorenzo Professional Building at 314 Central Ave. in Dunkirk, provides complete transportation services to a wide range of manufacturing and distribution companies across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Buffalo Niagara Enterprise is the point of contact for business retention, expansion and attraction for the eight counties of Western New York. For more details, visit www.buffaloniagara.org.

OBSERVER Business Editor Doug Fenton contributed to this report. Comments on this story may be sent to: dfenton@observertoday.com.

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