CICERO — Air Innovations, Inc. can relate to the old phrase “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” according to Michael Wetzel, the company’s president and CEO. 

Cicero–based Air Innovations is a multi-division, environmental control and HVAC control-systems manufacturer. HVAC is short for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.

About a decade ago, Air Innovations tried to export a display case for flowers, representing its first attempt to sell products internationally. The company had high hopes because it didn’t have any competitors in Europe for that type of product.

“Well, there’s probably a reason why there’s no competitors in Europe because they didn’t really want … the display cases for flowers,” said Wetzel.

Air Innovations, though, didn’t give up. About seven years ago, the firm started exporting its Wine Guardian products, which are residential and commercial wine cellars.

“That has been very successful. To date, we have exported Wine Guardian products to about 45 different countries,” Wetzel noted.

Wetzel on May 1 told the story after the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) honored the company as the New York winner of 2018 Small Business Exporter of the Year Award.  

The SBA held the presentation at Air Innovations, which operates in a 40,000-square-foot facility at 7000 Performance Drive, off East Taft Road in the town of Cicero.  It has 51 employees.

A second award

At the same time, Air Innovations has also been selected as the SBA’s region II 2018 Small Business Exporter of the Year. The SBA’s region II includes New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“It’s quite the honor to receive the local award. Then to receive the state award in region II, that’s way beyond our expectations,” Wetzel said in addressing the crowd gathered for the award presentation.

The SBA chose Air Innovations’ owners, Wetzel and his father, Lawrence Wetzel, for the award based on their company’s growth in international sales, employees, response to adversity, and community contributions, the agency said. 

SBA offices, like the one in Syracuse, recognize small businesses for the contributions to communities, said Bernard J. Paprocki, executive director of the SBA Syracuse district office. 

“In the case of Air Innovations … demonstrated tremendous ability to export products overseas, which is really key to our economy,” said Paprocki.

SBA assistance

With export assistance from SBA STEP grants, exports have nearly doubled over the past three years to represent 30 percent of revenues, the agency said.

SBA’s State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) seeks to support export growth among U.S. small businesses. STEP is designed to increase both the number of small businesses that begin to export and the value of exports for small businesses currently exporting, according to a September 2017 SBA news release.

Air Innovations generates about 

$15 million in annual revenue, said Wetzel, and about one-third of its sales come from exports.

Of that one-third figure, about half results from direct exports. 

“The other half of that third is … indirect export where we are selling to customers that are based in the U.S. that are then packaging our product with theirs and exporting it overseas,” said Wetzel.

He also noted that Air Innovations now has a sales office in Schaffhausen, Switzerland and a full-time sales manager based in that Swiss office.  

“He’s our one and only employee that doesn’t work out of our Syracuse location,” said Wetzel.

Originally founded in 1986 as Floratech Industries, Inc., the Wetzels acquired controlling interest of the company in 1996. 

Together, they shifted the firm’s initial focus on floral coolers to meet refrigeration, air conditioning and filtration needs for the aerospace, military, semiconductor, and pharmaceutical sectors.   

ALBANY — April showers might bring May flowers, but the long winter and harsh weather has brought potholes aplenty to roads across New York.

The problem was evident to Business Journal News Network readers who responded to a non-scientific poll. Eighty-four percent of those responding said “potholes are everywhere this year.” Only 2 percent said they were seeing fewer potholes and the remaining 14 percent said this year’s “pothole situation is the same as it is every spring.”

To help with the problem, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced the Harsh Winter Paving Initiative, funding 84 state-road projects around New York.

The funding is in addition to $300 million already committed to repaving projects, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

“The projects will take place throughout the summer and into fall, and will be completed this year,” the release said.

“These investments are critical to our transportation system and essential for community growth and regional economic competitiveness,” Cuomo said. 

The recently passed state budget included $65 million in Extreme Weather Recovery funds for locally owned roads, according to the governor’s office, which added the funding is supported through the New York State Department of Transportation’s five-year capital plan and is in addition to the $743 million in this year’s budget in direct state aid to local governments for road and bridge repair and modernization.

“The roads we are paving this summer provide important connections within and between communities, linking downtowns to business districts and supporting our agriculture and tourism industries,” said New York State Department of Transportation Acting Commissioner Paul A. Karas.

In Central New York, funding includes about $17.5 million in projects, paving 134 lane miles of the roads in Oswego, Onondaga, Cayuga, Cortland, and Madison counties.

The projects include:

• 1.3 million to resurface Route 20 from the Madison County line to Route 92 in Madison County

• 1.5 million to resurface Route 31, from Stevens Road to Route 690 in Onondaga County

• 2.2 million to address pavement cracking on Route 11 from the Village of Pulaski north line to the Jefferson County line

• 616,000 to resurface Route 41 from Collard Road to Route 20 in Onondaga County

• 1.2 million to resurface Route 3 from the Village of Mexico’s north boundary line to Deer Creek in Oswego County

• 2.8 million to address pavement cracking on Route 34 from the Tompkins County line to Venice Center in Cayuga County

• 2.7 million to address pavement cracking on Route 41 from Route 26 in Willet to the South Solon town line in Cortland County

• 1.1 million to resurface Route 3 from the East Fulton City Line to Route 264 in Oswego County

• 2.1 million to resurface Route 11 from Route 392 to Route 41 in Cortland County

• 850,000 to resurface Route 91 from North of Coleman Hill Road to Route 173 in Onondaga County

• 1.1 million to resurface Route 89 from Canoga to Routes 5 and 20 in Seneca County

In the Mohawk Valley, the funding includes about $9.4 million to pave 91 lane miles of the roads in Oneida, Herkimer, Fulton, Montgomery, Schoharie, and Otsego counties.

That includes:

• 1.8 million to pave Route 294 from Lewis County line to the Boonville Fairgrounds in Oneida County

• 2.8 million to pave Route 29 from Lasselville to Route 10A in Fulton County

• 610,000 to pave Route 171 from Gulph Road to the 5S Underpass in Herkimer County

• 1.7 million to pave Route 10 from Palatine Bridge to the Fulton County line 

in Montgomery County

• 1.1 million to resurface Route 7 from Merchant Place to the Schenectady County line in Schoharie County

• 708,000 to resurface Route 28 from Tunnicliff Road to US Route 20 in Otsego County

• 675,000 to resurface Route 7 from near Davis Drive to the Village of Otego line in Otsego County

In the North Country, about $3.1 million in projects to pave 73 lane miles of roads, are set for Lewis, Jefferson, St. Lawrence, Franklin, Clinton, Essex, and Hamilton counties. The projects include:

• 1.6 million to resurface Route 11 from Route 11C to Route11C in St. Lawrence County

• 1.1 million to resurface Route 180 from Route 12E to Route 12 in Jefferson County

• 420,000 to resurface Route 812 from Black River to Tillman Road in Lewis County

In the Southern Tier, about $16.1 million in projects, to pave 179 lane miles of roads, is set for Steuben, Schuyler, Chemung, Tompkins, Tioga, Broome, and Chenango.

The projects include:

• 1.8 million to address pavement cracking on Route 327 from Routes 13, 34, and 96 to Route 79 in Tompkins County

• 1.4 million to perform preventive maintenance paving on Route 54 from County Route 113 to Route 54A in Steuben County

• 1.5 million to resurface Routes 414, 79, 54 in the Town of Hector in Schuyler County and the Town of Barrington in Yates County

• 2.6 million to perform maintenance paving on Route 427 from Cedar St. to Chemung and Route 224 from Alpine Junction to the Chemung County line in Chemung County

• 2.1 million to resurface Route 10 from High Street in the Town of Walton to Launt Hollow Road in the Town of Hamden in Delaware County

• 2.3 million to resurface severely cracked and deteriorated roadway on Route 38B from the eastern Tioga County line (Stratton Road) to Route 38 in Tioga County

• 822,000 to resurface Route 41 from the Route 17 Exit 82 interchange to Parker Road in Broome County

• 1.8 million to resurface Route 12 from near County Route 32 to the Sherburne Village line in Chenango County

• 495,000 to resurface Route 26 from Route 38B to the Maine Memorial School in the Town of Maine in Broome County

• 625,000 to resurface Route 17C from the western Village of Owego line (Owego Creek) to Glen Mary Drive in Tioga County

• 630,000 to resurface Route 41 from Route 220 to the Cortland County line in Chenango County.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency (OCIDA) a $200,000 federal brownfields grant to help clean up the former Roth Steel Inc. property located at 800 Hiawatha Boulevard W. in Syracuse.

The $200,000 grant is among a total of $54.3 million that the EPA is providing for brownfield sites nationwide, the agency said in a news release. The EPA has also awarded funding to the Herkimer County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) and the City of Cortland for projects as well. 

They’re among 144 communities selected for federal grant funding to clean up brownfield properties.

“Brownfield grants are helping communities throughout our region unlock the unmet economic potential of contaminated and unused lands,” Pete Lopez, EPA regional administrator, said in the release. “Once cleanup is complete, the site can be put to reuse with the potential to bring in valuable private sector development, jobs, and additional tax revenue.”

Roth Steel

The 24-acre Syracuse site operated as a metal processing and recycling center from the 1950s until 2014, when Roth declared bankruptcy and the facility was closed. 

The site is contaminated with poly-chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), metals, and volatile organic compounds. The goal for cleanup is to remove hazardous hot spots on the site to allow recreational use and contribute to the creation of a trail that loops the entirety of the Onondaga Lake shoreline.

“Through the EPA brownfields-cleanup program, the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency will be able to rehabilitate this site back into productive use and prevent this property from blighting the city of Syracuse,” the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency said. “Without the EPA brownfields program, [OCIDA] would not be able to leverage its funds to the extent necessary to return the former Roth Steel property into a clean and productive site for taxpayers of the county.”

The grant from the EPA brownfield program will help continue efforts to clean the Roth steel site and return it to productive use, Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney added.

“Rehabilitating this valuable lakefront property is an important component in our efforts to continue to Loop the Lake and encourage further development in and around our Inner Harbor neighborhood,” said Mahoney.

Cortland 

The City of Cortland will use a community-wide grant of $200,000 to conduct environmental-site assessments. 

Cortland will use the grant to “inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct” planning and community-engagement activities. Many of the sites are “abandoned, unsuitable for redevelopment, community eyesores, and drain the economic vitality of the area,” the EPA said. 

The former Apex Tools site, which stopped manufacturing in 2015, is described as a “high-priority” site for assessment work under this grant. 

Since 1834, the factory produced wire rope, chain fittings, and overhead lifting devices. 

The soil and groundwater at this site are “likely” to have contaminants that include heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, semi-volatile organic compounds and PCBs. 

This large area of contaminated land is a “major concern” for the community since it is located in a primarily residential neighborhood with “no cleanup plans” currently in place.

“The legacy of the City’s industrial past now negatively impacts 25 percent of the land within the City,” Mack Cook, director of administration and finance for the City of Cortland, said in the release. “Using Brownfields to address the problem is essential to re-constructing the City into a modern live/work environment but this problem is unfortunately beyond the City’s fiscal capability to address without outside assistance.”

Herkimer County

The Herkimer County Industrial Development Agency will use a communitywide grant of $200,000 to conduct environmental-site assessments. 

Herkimer County will use these funds to “identify and assess” brownfield sites located in the county’s urban centers and along the waterways in communities such as Ilion, Dolgeville, Frankfort, village of Herkimer, town of Herkimer, and Little Falls. 

Sites chosen for assessment have the potential for redevelopment as affordable housing located in areas of existing infrastructure or redevelopment as manufacturers for packaging and distribution of food and beverage products.

“This EPA grant would allow us to explore properties that could help encourage economic development throughout the county,” John Piseck, executive director of the Herkimer County IDA, said.       

SYRACUSE — The KeyBank (NYSE: KEY) Business Boost & Build program on May 1 awarded $115,000 to CenterState CEO.

The funding will help CenterState CEO expand its popular UP Start Syracuse program, KeyBank said in a news release issued that day. KeyBank announced the funding award at the South Side Innovation Center to help mark the start of National Small Business Month.

UP Start Syracuse helps grow businesses “within vulnerable communities, contributing to stronger neighborhoods and shared prosperity,” KeyBank said. The program connects existing businesses and “aspiring” entrepreneurs to the tools and networks that help them “thrive, bringing together the collective resources of existing business organizations and community partners while also bridging the work of CenterState CEO’s Economic Inclusion and Innovation and Entrepreneurship portfolios.”

“We are very excited about this partnership with JumpStart,” Dominic Robinson, VP of economic inclusion at CenterState CEO, said. “The investment from the KeyBank Business Boost & Build program will help us expand our collective work to help expand prosperity in our community through the growth of women and minority owned businesses.”

The KeyBank Business Boost & Build program is supported by JumpStart, a Cleveland, Ohio–based nonprofit. It describes its mission as one that works to “unlock the full potential of diverse and ambitious entrepreneurs to economically transform entire communities,” according to its website.

It provides assistance to startups and small businesses, helps companies secure capital, and matches people with companies, the JumpStart website says. 

New York’s Upstate Minority Economic Alliance (UMEA) is also a “key player” in this collaborative project with the UP Start Syracuse program, KeyBank said. On its website, CenterState CEO lists UMEA among its “organizational partners.” 

As “the only chamber of commerce in the Central New York Region for minority business owners and professionals of color,” UMEA will offer discounted memberships to clients of CenterState’s UP Start Syracuse program. It will also offer small-business owners assistance with obtaining minority and women owned business enterprise (MWBE) certification and securing other economic-development investments. 

Additional program support

Besides the UP Start Syracuse program, CenterState CEO will also use the funding in its collaboration with two programs that the Syracuse University Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship oversees. The Falcone Center is a program of Syracuse’s Martin J. Whitman School of Management.

The programs include the South Side Innovation Center (SSIC) at 2610 S. Salina St. in Syracuse. The SSIC is a community-based microenterprise incubator that provides office space, training, test kitchen space, and MWBE certification for neighborhood entrepreneurs. CenterState will refer clients to SSIC, provide supplemental technical assistance to residents, and continue to work with the organization to successfully launch and grow south-side businesses. 

The second program is the Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (WISE), which CenterState will provide with new funding to deliver more workshops and technical assistance for entrepreneurs, specifically for its Exito program. 

Funding will also support the annual WISE Women’s Symposium, which the organization held April 18 at SKY Armory.

Funded by a grant from the KeyBank Foundation in 2017, the KeyBank Business Boost & Build program is “designed to stimulate economic growth” in Ohio and upstate New York by helping startups and small businesses grow and “preparing the workforce for the needs of those companies.” 

Hundreds of people and companies in Central New York, and thousands across the state, have not cashed more than $2.1 million in checks that Excellus BlueCross BlueShield and its parent company have issued. 

Rochester–based Excellus, which has an office in DeWitt, is Central New York’s largest health insurer.

These checks were issued to members and providers in 2014, but were never cashed, the health insurer said in an April 25 news release. If the funds aren’t claimed by the end of August, Excellus is required to turn the money over to New York State. 

A complete list of names of people and companies with checks to claim is available on the company’s website at ExcellusBCBS.com/UnclaimedFunds, the nonprofit said. 

“This is money that was paid for claims or refunded premiums,” Jim Reed, regional president of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, said in the health insurer’s news release. “It rightfully belongs to our members or providers, and we want to make sure they have one more chance to claim it before it goes to the state.” 

Most of the checks that have yet to be cashed were allocated to Excellus BlueCross BlueShield members and providers, who may have forgotten to cash the checks, moved and left no forwarding address, or died, the health insurer said. 

To claim a check prior to Aug. 31, current Excellus members can call the phone number listed on their member identification card. 

Former members, or those calling on behalf of the estate of a family member, can call Excellus at 1-800-499-1275. 

The health insurer says it will mail the checks to claimants on or before Aug. 31.