Orleans wants to woo more Canadian companies

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 November 2013 at 12:00 am

ALBION – The Orleans Economic Development Agency did something unusual this week. It put out a press release.

I don’t recall the agency ever doing that. The EDA wanted to share some good news. A Canadian firm was working to turn a vacant warehouse on McKinistry Street in Albion into an electronics recycling operation. BoMET Holding Inc. plans to hire 30 people at the Albion site.

The company is working on renovations at the 60,000-square-foot warehouse. It will likely start operations in Albion in the spring.

This project has been covered in the local news since April. I wondered why the push to highlight it now.

Jim Whipple, chief executive officer for the Orleans EDA, wanted to get the word out that the EDA has now worked with five companies based in Canada to grow in Orleans County. (Associated Brands in Medina, Brunner in Medina, Freeze-Dry Foods in Albion and Hinspergers Poly Industries in Medina are the others.)

“We’re using this to market our success with Canadian companies,” Whipple said about the BoMET project.

Several media outlets in Western New York reported on BoMET’s Albion project this week. It seems the press release did the job.

The Orleans EDA hired Mindful Media Groupto help put together the press release and promote it with news outlets. Mindful Media works with CRFS in Albion and Medina.

Orleans is an attractive community for Canadian companies because of the county’s close proximity to the Canadian border, as well as our location near Buffalo and Rochester, and the major markets in the northeast.

Whipple also wanted to show that the EDA can craft a deal that makes it appealing to do business in Orleans County.

The press release quotes BoMET CEO Zhan Bo Zhang, praising his assistance with the EDA.

“It was my dealings with the OEDA that cemented my decision to locate in Orleans County,” he said. “From start to finish, their knowledge, expertise and guidance gave me the confidence that BoMET Recovery would be successful there.”

Whipple said another Canadian company may soon commit to a project in Orleans.