BNE Outreach on Both Sides of the Border

May 11, 2012

Welcome back to another edition of BNE's Good News Weekly!

It's been a busy week for our business development team as they were out doing what they do best - hitting the road to promote our regional assets and generate economic development leads.

The food processing subsector of our agri-business cluster was the focus of the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago. Over 1,800 exhibitors participated in this show that has become known as the international foodservice marketplace. It was our first time attending the NRA where we established four new international contacts and made use of our time by meeting and continuing to build our relationship with Biggins, Lacy, Shapiro & Company, a prominent international site selector.

After hitting the NRA show we jumped across town and attended our first International Powder & Bulk Solids show. This bi-annual conference brings together suppliers to the food, pharmaceutical, chemical and plastics industries. BNE staff established contacts with 19 Canadian companies at the show and four other international prospects.

And finally, our outreach efforts in Canada continued this week with our participation in Supply Chain Canada in the City of Mississauga. Supply Chain Canada is the country's national logistics & distribution show, and our staff met with five different companies during our one day in attendance. BNE was the only United States economic development group to participate, and we were very pleased by the strong awareness of our regional assets by those in attendance. Equally impressive was the favorable opinions we were receiving regarding our business climate and the ease of border crossing.

Speaking of Borders . . . There's A Smarter Way to Cross

BNE isn't alone in our efforts to educate our Canadian neighbors on the benefits or ease of doing business in the United States. Many of our investor companies join in or supplement our economic development attraction efforts, and the latest one to do so was Hodgson Russ with an event this past week called "There's a Smarter Way to Cross". Approximately 150 people were in attendance for the program that was focused on legal considerations for cross-border businesses and individuals.

Successful events such as this reinforce and validate the message that Buffalo Niagara Enterprise staff carries to Canadian companies on a regular basis - you can successfully expand into the U.S. market, and Buffalo Niagara is the best place to do it! These conferences also reaffirm that our investor companies and professional service providers are extremely well equipped to assist our Canadian projects. Congratulations to BNE board member and Hodgson Russ President John Amershadian and all of the attorneys who participated in the great event.

NOCO Launches New Convenience Store Franchise

BNE investor NOCO Energy Corporation has officially launched their new retail gasoline and convenience store franchise with today's ribbon cutting at Dino-Mart on Ransom Road on Grand Island. NOCO invested $2 million in building the brand new 3,200 square foot store that will employ 20 people. A second Dino-Mart store is planned to open in Rochester in the next few weeks. Congratulations to NOCO President Jim Newman and Executive Vice President Mike Newman, the third generation of the Newman family to lead this great local success story, and best of luck on this new venture.

Don't forget to check out the Featured Investor section and link at the right of the page. Also, please click the Share the Good News! link below to send this to someone you think would enjoy reading it.

Tom Have a great weekend and we'll see everyone next week!

Sincerely,

Thomas A. Kucharski

President & CEO

takucharski@buffaloniagara.org

Buffalo Niagara Enterprise

Regional Economic Development

Research, Marketing & Business Attraction

1.800.916.9073

Quick Links

Press Room

Labor Market Assessment

Incentives Database

Regional Maps

Jobs Database

Invest in Buffalo Niagara

Featured Investor

A founding investor in Buffalo Niagara Enterprise, Dunn Tire LLC has been represented on BNE's Steering Committee and Board of Directors since 1999 by its Chairman, Randy Clark. Mr. Clark was a driving force in the formation of the BNE in the late 1990's. He has played a pivotal role in our successful development, serving two stints as BNE Chairman, from 2001-2007, and again from 2011 to the present.

Featured Resource

"We choose to be in Buffalo Niagara, because we love it here."
Click to watch our new "A Million Reasons" video

Buffalo Niagara ::
Where Life Works

Tell Us How Buffalo Niagara Works for You

"After growing up in Buffalo and then living around the world, moving back to Western New York provided opportunities
for my family and career that no other region could offer. The superior amenities and activities, cost of living, education and natural landscape are unparalleled. When you have lived across the globe, you can truly treasure everything that
is available - and all within 20 minutes no matter where you are. We are lucky enough to have abounding personal and
professional opportunities while still retaining that intimate neighborhood feel. For Greatbatch, our business flourishes here with the Buffalo Niagara region's strategic location, talent pool accessibility, and growing business community."

- Tom Hook,

President & CEO,

Greatbatch Inc.