UTICA — ConMed Corp. (NASDAQ: CNMD), a Utica–based medical-device maker, recently announced that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 20 cents per share for the second quarter.

The dividend will be payable on July 5 to all shareholders of record as of June 15.

At the company’s current stock price, the dividend yields about 1.2 percent. ConMed’s stock has jumped nearly 35 percent year to date, through May 29.

ConMed says it’s a medical technology company that provides surgical devices and equipment for minimally invasive procedures. The firm’s products are used by surgeons and physicians in specialties including orthopedics, general surgery, gynecology, neurosurgery, and gastroenterology. ConMed has a direct selling presence in 19 countries, and international sales make up about half of its total sales. The company employs about 3,100 people globally.

Ronald J. Papa, president and CEO of National Fire Adjustment Company, Inc. (NFA), has been elected by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Upstate New York board of directors to a three-year term as a board member. 

NFA has been a BBB-accredited business for 55-plus years, according to a BBB news release. Papa has been president of Amherst–based NFA since 1994. NFA is a licensed public-adjuster firm established in 1922 by Bernard Papa. The business is in its fourth generation.

NFA’s Syracuse office is located at 5850 Court Street Road in the town of DeWitt. The firm also has CNY offices in Utica and Potsdam.

In 2017, people turned to BBB more than 160 million times for BBB business profiles on more than 5.2 million businesses and charity reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at bbb.org.

M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) announced the election of Kevin J. Pearson to its board of directors and the board of its main banking subsidiary, effective May 15. 

Pearson is vice chairman of M&T Bank with overall responsibility for M&T’s Commercial Banking Division, the Technology and Banking Operations Division, Credit Division, and Wilmington Trust, which is M&T’s wealth management and institutional client services arm. 

Pearson began his career with M&T Bank in 1989 as part of the Private Banking Division in New York City and has held a number of management positions, including head of commercial lending in M&T Bank’s Tarrytown region, Philadelphia regional president, and New York City metro-area executive. He was named executive VP and joined the M&T Bank Corp. management group in 2002. Pearson began his role as vice chairman of M&T Bank in 2014.

Pearson received a bachelor’s degree in commerce and an MBA from Santa Clara University in California. 

Buffalo–based M&T Bank operates branches in New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. It ranks number one in deposit market share in the 16-county Central New York area.

ROME — The shutdown of Premier Aviation Overhaul Center in Rome will cost 127 workers their jobs.

In a legally required Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, Quebec–based Premier said 127 workers would be laid off Aug. 22.

In letters to employees and officials, Premier said the shutdown was due to “the fact of a sustained lower revenue stream that cannot sustain the contractual obligations of the leased property and the utility costs at the business premises, and the continued failing health of the CEO.”

The letter continued: “We have attempted for an extended period of time to negotiate a reduction in rent and utility costs, but were unable to obtain necessary relief.”

The building is leased from 394 HRC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mohawk Valley EDGE, the area’s economic-development agency.

In an email to CNYBJ, EDGE President Steven J. DiMeo said the lease for Premier has been modified multiple times. “394 HRC was accepting less rent than what is currently required under the last lease modification that was approved less than two years ago,” he wrote.

“The decision to discontinue operations was primarily due to the fact that the owner has sold his other operations and his customer base is down to one customer and it is no longer feasible for him to attempt to maintain this operation. In addition, he is getting up in years and has health concerns, which also factored into his decision not to continue the business,” DiMeo said.

In an official statement issued shortly after Premier notified officials of the layoffs, EDGE said it was disappointed with Premier Aviation’s decision to close its Rome maintenance facility. “We have worked with Premier over the past seven years in its Rome operation. We will work with them on the transition and will coordinate with Oneida County and our workforce development partners on assistance to the employees impacted by this announcement and will work with Oneida County and Griffiss International Airport officials on the marketing of the hangar complex for aviation and UAS/UAV related opportunities.”

Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente said it was “disheartening” to hear Premier was closing and workers would be losing jobs. “Oneida County will do anything it can to help assist with this situation.”

Premier has facilities at Griffiss Business and Technology Park in Rome as well as in Canada. 

The Rome facility has nearly 380,000 square feet of space in hangars and other buildings, plus a 50,000-square-foot paint hangar, according to Premier’s website.

Letters to employees notifying them they would be losing their jobs did not mention the opportunity to work elsewhere for Premier. However, the letters mention that “employees may possibly receive offers of employment with competitors. We will provide you with further information as it becomes available.”

Premier purchased the assets of Empire Aero Center in 2013, taking over space that company had occupied. Founded in 2002, Premier’s business is providing aircraft maintenance services including inspections, maintenance, modifications, and refinishing.

Premier has been a major employer of graduates from Mohawk Valley Community College’s Airframe and Powerplant Technology program. Program director Walter Constantini told CNYBJ earlier this year that some 60 percent of graduates of the MVCC program go to work for Premier.

Constantini also said that employment prospects were strong in the field, as industry growth and retirements among current workers are expected to create more than 100,000 openings in aircraft maintenance and overhauling in the next two decades in the United States and some 700,000 openings globally.