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.