Polymer Conversions to expand, add 15 jobs
Reprinted from The Buffalo News, May 9, 2006

Polymer Conversions plans to expand its Orchard Park plant in a $3.7 million project that is expected to create 15 new jobs over the next two years.

The Erie County Industrial Development Agency on Monday approved $427,000 in tax breaks for the plastic injection molded products manufacturer, which plans to build a 20,000-square-foot addition to its plant at 5732 Big Tree Road.

The expansion project also will help Polymer Conversions acquire new equipment that will expand its technical capabilities and help the company compete with other U.S. firms that have lower electricity costs and smaller tax burdens, IDA officials said.

Polymer Conversions moved into its 35,000-square-foot Orchard Park factory in 1990 after moving from a smaller facility in Cheektowaga. The company, which expects to increase its work force from 80 people today to 95 within two years, makes plastic injection molded products that are used as medical components, gearing devices and other purposes.

The tax breaks approved by the IDA will cut Polymer Conversions' property tax bill by $289,648, while saving the company $100,443 in sales taxes and another $37,000 in mortgage taxes. Even with the tax breaks, the project is expected to generate an extra $193,100 in tax revenue for local governments and schools, IDA officials said.

The IDA also approved $230,000 in tax breaks to help McGuire Pharmacy expand its prescription medicine and medical supply distribution business.

McGuire Union Road LLC, which is developing the project for the McGuire Group, plans to move the pharmacy business from its current location at 410 Evans St. in Amherst to a 13,467-square-foot building that it is renovating at 2355 Union Road in Cheektowaga. The expansion is expected to create five jobs over the next two years, boosting the work force at the pharmacy operations to 25 people.

The pharmacy business, which has been growing at a 15 percent annual rate as health care providers centralize their pharmacy operations, has been held back in its growth by the low ceilings, limited parking and lack of room for expansion at its Amherst site. "We've been turing away clients," said James McGuire, chief executive officer of the McGuire Group.

The pharmacy, which serves the McGuire Group's stable of nursing homes and other clients, gets a little more than a third of its business from nursing homes outside Erie County, including some on Long Island, McGuire said.

The pharmacy will occupy slightly more than two-thirds of the building, with the Center for Skin Integrity, a local wound care provider, leasing the rest.

With the IDA incentives, McGuire Union Road will save $175,593 in property taxes, along with $41,134 in sales taxes and $13,126 in mortgage taxes. Even with the tax breaks, the project will generate about $127,150 in additional tax revenue than the property currently does, over the life of the exemptions.

The IDA also approved $10 million in bond financing for the 90,000-square-foot factory that Cobey Inc. is building in the Buffalo Lakeside Commerce Center. Cobey, which is consolidating its Clarence and Blasdell facilities in the new Buffalo factory, expects to add 15 jobs through the project, increasing its work force to 60 people within two years.