|
MAJOR FACTORY BUILDINGS REMAIN VACANT
Mike McCagg
ccSCOOP News
08-28-09 – 4:20 p.m. - Efforts are underway, but the response is slow to attempts to return manufacturing to two prominent factories in the Columbia County.
The manufacturing facilities of Kaz, Inc., and LB Industries, located in Greenport and Hudson respectively, are largely unused months after manufacturing operations
ceased. Both facilities sit at the southern entrances to Hudson—Kaz on Route 9 and LB on Route 9G—and the “For Sale” signs contribute to people’s first impressions as they enter the county seat. |
|
|
"It's not good to have too much of the space vacant, but there are things being done to remedy it," said David Colby, executive director of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce.
Kenneth Flood, Columbia County Commissioner for Planning and Economic Development Commissioner, described the interest in the Kaz facility—the focal point of efforts to draw manufacturing back into the county—as “slow,” adding that the economy is likely to blame.
Manufacturing operations at the 200,000-square-foot Kaz facility ceased in March when the last of the 250 to 350 manufacturing jobs there were eliminated there, and efforts to lure a manufacturer to the facility have been ongoing since December. According to Flood, the county has been working with a realtor hired by Richard
Katzman, the owner of Kaz, Inc., but there have not many solid leads.
At the same time, the 300,000-square-foot LB plant also stands empty and available for rent with few leads coming forward, officials said. A visit to the plant by this reporter found the inside cluttered with debris but equipment after the auction last September.
Katzman, who decided to outsource the manufacture of the vaporizers, humidifiers, heating pads, and other home health-care products manufactured by Kaz, blames the depressed national economy for the lack of interest in the 13-year-old Kaz
plant.
Colby said the county has done a good job trying to find tenants and bring
new jobs to the county, but the overall economy has not cooperated.
|
|
 |
"There are a lot of things that are being done behind the scenes to get potential new companies to occupy the space, but there are obvious issues with the economy," Colby said, but he declined to be more specific about the "behind the scenes" efforts. Tax incentives are a standard lure for manufacturers, but officials say they have not been approached to provide them.
"Manufacturing in the county is solid," said Flood, citing the large paper mill on Route 82 in Ancram and Sunoco Crellin operating on Route 66 in Chatham. However, he added, because of the national and international economy, there aren't many manufacturers looking to expand or start new operations, and, as a consequence, there is very little interest in the Kaz and LB properties.
|
