NEWARK — Upstate Refractory Services (URS), a contractor, installer and distributor of refractory materials in Newark in Wayne County, has acquired the assets of Cicero–based Hanyan-Higgins Company Inc.

URS specializes in “engineered precast refractory shapes, stack bonded ceramic fiber panels used in furnace roofs, walls and doors, refractory relines and repairs, distribution of refractory materials, combustion controls, and design and fabrication of new furnaces,” according to its website.

Industrial heating furnaces serving the heat treating, forging, foundry, and ceramics industries are “our core competency,” per the company’s LinkedIn page.

Hanyan-Higgins, which has a main office located at 7397 Taft Park Drive in Cicero, has been providing refractory sales and service to industrial, commercial, and municipal customers for nearly 90 years. It also has locations in Albany and Massena

The deal closed on March 2, says Dave Wetmore, president of URS. He declined to disclose any terms of the asset-acquisition agreement when he spoke to CNYBJ on March 12. 

“We’ve been friends for nearly 20 years,” says Wetmore, referring to URS’ relationship with Hanyan-Higgins.

Wetmore co-owns URS along with his wife, Diane, who serves as the firm’s VP, he says. 

URS has construction capability, but the workers at Hanyan-Higgins “specialize in it,” according to Wetmore. The difference between the two firms, he notes, is that Hanyan-Higgins handles “a lot” of on-site installation work, saying it is “pretty much their focus.” 

“They have some equipment that we didn’t have and they have some customer relationships that we didn’t have,” says Wetmore.

In its area, Hanyan-Higgins had a “great following” and “good loyal customer base.”

“That was what really attracted us to them,” says Wetmore.

The acquisition puts URS closer to some of its customers that are located to the east and north of the firm’s main office in Wayne County. 

“Hanyan-Higgins typically did construction work and they staged some of their material and equipment closer to the customer, which gives you a little quicker response time,” says Wetmore. 

The acquisition deal

In the deal, URS added four employees to increase its employee count to about 43 workers. The new employees include John and Dave Higgins, who co-owned Hanyan-Higgins before the acquisition. A third owner, Joe Higgins, an older brother, is retiring, according to Wetmore. 

URS also acquired equipment, vehicles, and specialized tools. The company is leasing the Cicero location from Hanyan-Higgins, he added.

URS also plans to maintain a presence with the Hanyan-Higgins location in Albany but isn’t sure how it plans to handle the Hanyan-Higgins site in Massena, says Wetmore. It’s been mainly used for storage, and Wetmore figures URS may continue using the facility for that same purpose. 

URS currently has a customer list of about 180 clients and will add about 80 to 100 new customers with the acquisition. “There was some overlap with us because we’re in the same business,” says Wetmore. 

URS services the heat-process industry with customers that include Crucible Steel in Geddes; Novelis, a producer of flat-rolled aluminum products in Oswego; and Alcoa Corp. in Massena, he says. 

“The thing that we want to stress to [Hanyan-Higgins] customers is that we intend to take care of them as well as they were taken care of before,” he says. 

Hanyan-Higgins has been a distributor of Plibrico refractory products for over 60 years, and with this acquisition, URS will continue to offer Plibrico across upstate, Central, and Western New York.

New York State (NYS) and Parks & Trails New York (PTNY) recently announced $450,000 in state grants to 21 organizations dedicated to the stewardship and promotion of New York State parks, historic sites, and public lands. 

These groups raise private funds for capital projects, perform maintenance efforts, provide educational programming, and promote public use by hosting special events, according to a news release from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

The Park and Trail Partnership Program grants, funded through the state’s Environmental Protection Fund, will be matched by almost $200,000 in private and local funding, which will support projects. The Park and Trail Partnership Program grants, according to the DEC release, are designed to:

• Enhance the preservation, stewardship, interpretation, maintenance, and promotion of New York State parks, trails, historic sites, and public lands;

• Increase the sustainability, effectiveness, productivity, volunteerism, and fundraising capabilities of nonprofit organizations that promote, maintain, and support New York State parks, trails, and state historic sites; and

• Promote the tourism and economic-development benefits of outdoor recreation through the growth and expansion of a connected statewide network of parks, trails, and greenways.

The grants are administered by the State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, and Parks & Trails New York, a statewide nonprofit group. This year for the first time, grant awardees include DEC Friends groups.

The organizations receiving grants in Central New York regions include:

Central Region

Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum: $20,400 to create a new education program entitled “The Story of the Water STEM Program: Erie Canal Connections.” The program will allow the museum to research water systems related to the Erie Canal and create STEM educational programming. Additional components of the new STEM program will be a summer STEM camp, and a “Story of the Water” series of talks. The new education program will enable visitors to explore how humans affect the canal water system today.

Council of Park Friends: $8,500 to make many “needed” updates to the Clark Reservation State Park Nature Center, specifically the geology exhibit, which explains the geologic formation comprising the main attraction at the park. Additional updates include the wildlife and flora exhibits, replacing the book collection, and purchasing new tables and display cases.

Mohawk Valley

Friends of Johnson Hall: $9,905 for of a historic floor cloth, a “painted carpet” for the front hallway of Johnson Hall State Historic Site in Johnstown. This reproduction floor cloth seeks to help protect the original wooden floor from heavy wear by visitors and will complete the restoration of the decorative finishes on the first floor of this site. Funds will also be used to produce a detailed color booklet, postcards and a website update to summarize all the restorations projects that have been competed or are underway.

North Country 

Azure Mountain Friends: $7,225 to initiate a publicity campaign and fund necessary repairs. The publicity campaign seeks to improve communications to the public about the work of the Azure Mountain Friends, the history of the tower, expand interest, ultimately increase the number of volunteers and supporters, and ensure the continuation of educational programs.

Friends of the Nature Center: $50,000 to create a new forest exhibit that will be located at the entrance of the Minna Anthony Common Nature Center. This exhibit will include interactive graphics that explain what each part of the tree does. This “modern, state of the art exhibit” seeks to draw the attention of new visitors, while also giving returning visitors a reason to return and explore the new elements.

Winona Forest Recreation Association: $19,082 for the rehabilitation of multi-use trails in the Winona State Forest, designed to increase public access and significantly enhancing users’ experience. This rehabilitation of the trails will attract new users, increase tourism dollars, and grow the local economy, the release stated.

Parks & Trails New York says it is an advocate for parks and trails, dedicated since 1985 to improving the health and quality of life of all New Yorkers by working with community organizations and municipalities to envision, create, promote, and protect a growing network of parks, greenways and trails throughout the state for all to use and enjoy.