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Inforia announces change in leadership
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Inforia, Inc., a provider of electronic health records technology to medical practices, announced today that Karen S. Goetz, president and CEO since
Lewis County and chamber launch new regional tourism site, mobile apps
LOWVILLE, N.Y. — Tourists and outdoor enthusiasts interested in visiting the Adirondacks-Tug Hill region have some new tools at their fingertips. Lewis County and the
Cuomo announces $1.4 million for research, promotion of specialty crops across the state
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday announced $1.4 million in awards targeting the research and promotion of specialty crops in the Empire State, including agricultural
New York’s jobless claims fall to seven-year low
The number of people filing initial applications for unemployment benefits in New York state fell 16 percent to 15,910 in the week ending Sept. 20,

People news: Keystone Associates hires new sustainability manager
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Keystone Associates Architects, Engineers and Surveyors, LLC, announced that John Saraceno, Jr., has joined the firm as sustainability manager. In this new

Pathfinder Bancorp to pay quarterly dividend of 3 cents
OSWEGO, N.Y. — Pathfinder Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: PBHC), holding company for Pathfinder Bank, has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 3 cents per share on its

Brewery Ommegang sees continued sales spike on tap
COOPERSTOWN — Overall beer consumption in America is flat. Craft beers, however, are generating double-digit growth as the consumer searches for variety and new styles. The Brewers Association, the national organization for small and independent craft brewers, defines a craft brewer as one which produces no more than 6 million barrels a year and whose
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COOPERSTOWN — Overall beer consumption in America is flat. Craft beers, however, are generating double-digit growth as the consumer searches for variety and new styles.
The Brewers Association, the national organization for small and independent craft brewers, defines a craft brewer as one which produces no more than 6 million barrels a year and whose ownership by a non-craft, alcoholic-beverage company must be less than 25 percent. The demand for craft beers creates a new brewery every day somewhere in the nation. The U.S. had fewer than 200 breweries 25 years ago. As of June, the country now has 3,000 breweries, a threshold not crossed since the 1870s.
While Americans imbibe, on average, 77.1 liters of beer per annum (217 12-ounce bottles), our inveterate propensity for the brew ranks us at number 14 globally; The Czech Republic takes bragging rights at 148.6 liters per capita. Still, America is the second biggest beer market worldwide with nearly a 13 percent market share.
Brewery Ommegang, which opened near Cooperstown in 1997, was an early entrant into the domestic, craft-beer market. (The name Ommegang means “to walk about” and honors a festival held annually in Belgium commemorating the entrance of Emperor Charles V to the city of Brussels.) The founders carved out a unique niche brewing Belgian-style beers, known for their alcoholic content and richness of flavor.
“Since I joined the firm [in 2008], the brewery has increased its production and sales volume by 20 percent a year [compounded],” says Bill Wetmore, general manager of Brewery Ommegang. “This year, we will sell approximately 650,000 cases (24 12-ounce bottles per case) which equates to a little more than 5.5 million gallons. In 2015, we’re scheduled to craft 24 different beers, some of which are seasonal. Brewery Ommegang relies on one production line to produce four to six different beers per week, but the equipment is flexible so that we can change the line on the fly. To keep up with demand, we have added capacity and run the line 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.”
The brewery sits on a 136-acre former hops farm located in the town of Middlefield, less than five miles south of the village of Cooperstown. It was the first farmstead brewery built in America in 100 years. Brewery Ommegang employs 80 people year-round and adds another 20 in the summer to staff the café and gift shop, which opened in 2010. Management has turned the site into a venue for visitors, who come to tour the operation, eat from a menu paired with Ommegang selections, and enjoy concerts held on the grounds. Allison Capozza, publicity manager for the brewery, estimates that the company hosts 65,000 people annually, 20,000 of whom come for the concerts.
The Business Journal News Network estimates that Brewery Ommegang will post revenue in 2014 of $22 million to $24 million. The company currently distributes its products in 43 states, Canada, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Wetmore expects to add West Virginia to the distribution list by the first of the year.
How it started
The Ommegang concept originated with Don Feinberg and Wendy Littlefield. In 1982, Feinberg established an import company — Vanberg & DeWulf — that specialized in Belgian beers. His wife, Littlefield, joined him in the business in 1990. The couple worked exclusively with breweries that were independent, family-owned, and artisanal. The couple formed the brewery in 1996 in partnership with Belgian breweries whose beers Vanberg & DeWulf had imported. One of the partners was Duvel Moortgat (Doo-vel Moort-got), which bought out all of the other stockholders by 2004. Feinberg and Littlefield sold the importing company in February.
The brewery’s rustic location has one drawback: the difficulty of maneuvering tractor-trailers on County Route 33. The impediment to convenient shipping, however, is outweighed by the setting which attracts thousands of visitors. In addition to several concerts each year, the staff creates annual events such as “Belgium Comes to Cooperstown,” a beer festival with more than 100 breweries pouring samples for 3,000 beer fans.” Then, too, there is the attribute of water. “Water to a brewer is [like] blood,” intones Wetmore. “It is the … [life-force] of the beer. We’re very fortunate to have four wells on the farm that supply us with a steady volume of clean, pure water.”
Crafting the beer is part science and part art. Ommegang has an innovation team, including the marketing department, the innovation manager, the brewmaster, packaging, quality control, and graphics, which is continuously responding to customer demand and creating new recipes. “We start with a concept from the marketing department to determine consumer demand,” avers the general manager. “We are always talking to retailers and to our visitors at the plant to understand what our audience wants. The process also includes trying new recipes created by our innovation manager, brewmaster, and staff brewers. It’s vital that we stay ahead of the marketplace.”
Ommegang has historically created its products for a small audience of beer connoisseurs, whom Wetmore describes as “… the top of the pyramid. These are the better-beer drinkers who enjoy exploring new beers. They expect to pay a premium price above the average for a craft beer. Our target audience is 25 to 50 years old with a ratio of perhaps 60 percent male and 40 percent female. Over the past few years, we have focused on adding a variety of beers and styles that are broader in appeal. The new beers are priced a bit lower than some of our complex offerings, and the styles are more familiar to the general public — amber ales, white beers, and pale ales. The goal is to reach the more ‘generalist’ craft drinkers and introduce them to Brewery Ommegang.”
To promote the brewery’s products and events, the marketing department utilizes a number of traditional methods. But it has also leveraged its social media to spread the word. “We’re very active in utilizing social media,” observes Capozza. “Ommegang has 53,000 followers on Facebook, 40,000 on Twitter, and 11,000 on Instagram. This year alone, our Facebook followers are up 28 percent, Twitter is up 34 percent, and Instagram is up 95 percent. In addition, we blog twice a week about everything from upcoming events, to new beers, and what the chef is doing in the café … The craft-beer industry is growing so fast that we don’t think in terms of other craft brewers as competitors as much as they are collaborators. America is enjoying a flavor revolution, and today’s consumer wants choice. Craft drinkers are not sold on their father’s brand; they want to try something new.”
Wetmore agrees that Ommegang needs to be active in promoting and presenting its beers to the consumer. “First and foremost, we invest in people,” says the general manager. “We have more sales people on the street than most anyone else in the industry, because we believe in building strong partnerships in key markets with our wholesalers and the local retail community. We also invest in value-adding innovation in our beers and the corporate strategy emphasizes reinvesting in our production site both to drive efficiencies and to deliver a world-class visitor experience here in Cooperstown.”
“The Duvel Moortgat brewery (Brouwerij Duvel Moorgat) was established in 1871 and is currently owned by three brothers of the fourth generation of Moortgats and an aunt from the third generation,” notes Wetmore. “Duvel owns five breweries in Belgium and the Czech Republic plus Ommegang and Boulevard Brewing Co. in the U.S. The parent set up Duvel USA as the importing unit of Duvel Moortgat, and it also acts as a marketing company to sell beer from all seven breweries [to this region.] Duvel USA, in effect, is Ommegang’s customer. Duvel USA and the breweries work very closely together: We have staff from both companies on site here.” In addition to being the general manager of Ommegang, Wetmore is the director of marketing for Duvel USA.
The acquisition by Duvel of Boulevard Brewing Co. located in Kansas City, Mo. was announced in October 2013 and closed on Jan. 1, 2014. Boulevard expects to produce close to 200,000 barrels this year and is listed as the 12th largest craft brewery in the country. Boulevard distributes in 25 states, with 90 percent of its business in the Midwest. The parent is planning to spend $7 million to increase the fermentation and cellaring capacity in Kansas City. The acquisition brings the parent company’s consolidated annual revenue to approximately $300 million. The company posted operating profit in 2011 of $40 million on sales of $202 million. Duvel Moortgat went private in 2012.
The management team at Brewery Ommegang includes Wetmore, Phil Leinhart as brewmaster, Rick DeBar as technical manager, Kim White as supply-chain manager, Larry Bennett as creative-services director, Chance Nichols as CFO, and Tara Aitchison as events/retail manager. The company was recognized in 2013 as the Business of the Year by the Otsego Chamber of Commerce.
Wetmore started his career in New York City with food-and-beverage, public-relations agency Gilman & MacKenzie, where he worked on Haagen-Dazs, Betty Crocker, Kraft, and Aveda brands as well as PepsiCo corporate communications. He next served as the customer-marketing director for Scottish & Newcastle, whose flagship Newcastle Brown Ale enjoyed 20 years of double-digit growth. Wetmore, a Syracuse University graduate, joined Ommegang in 2008.
Contact Poltenson at npoltenson@cnybj.com
Hummel becomes majority owner of Business Machines & Equipment in Marcy
MARCY — Business Machines & Equipment, Inc. (BME), a growing Mohawk Valley office-supply company, is under new ownership, and a new affiliation with Hummel’s Office Plus. BME, which employs 12 people and operates in leased space at 9443 River Road in Marcy, announced the transaction in a recent news release. The company provides copiers, fax
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MARCY — Business Machines & Equipment, Inc. (BME), a growing Mohawk Valley office-supply company, is under new ownership, and a new affiliation with Hummel’s Office Plus.
BME, which employs 12 people and operates in leased space at 9443 River Road in Marcy, announced the transaction in a recent news release.
The company provides copiers, fax machines, and printers, according to its website.
Harrison (Chip) Hummel III, chairman of the board of directors of Hummel’s, has “taken a majority stake” in the BME firm and now serves as its president.
Steve Mitchell, BME’s vice president of sales and development, is also one of the firm’s co-owners.
“We’re just going to be … affiliated with Hummel’s Office Plus,” says Mitchell.
Hummel’s is an 80-year-old, family-owned office-supply company headquartered in Mohawk in Herkimer County. It employs about 90 people.
Mitchell declined to disclose any terms of the transaction adjusting the company’s ownership. He secured his original ownership stake when he joined BME in April 2013, he says.
“We’re running it as a sister company [to Hummel’s Office Plus] but Chip and I [co-own] the company,” says Mitchell.
Chip Hummel is the majority owner, and Mitchell referred to himself as a “significant” partner, declining to provide percentages of ownership.
James (Jim) and Georgiann Lambert, BME’s founders, have retained an ownership stake in the company, but plan to retire on Dec. 31.
“They own a small percentage, and they’re going to be staying on during the transition … through 2014,” says Mitchell.
The Lamberts will maintain their ownership stake after they retire, he added.
Chip Hummel and Jim Lambert have known each other “for years,” says Mitchell. The discussions on the transaction started in 2013 and continued for about eight or nine months.
“He [Hummel] invested and I invested. I owned a small stake in 2013 and then I took a larger stake at the same time Chip did in 2014,” says Mitchell.
All the parties involved utilized legal advice as the transaction unfolded, but Mitchell declined to disclose any of the attorneys involved.
“Eventually our distribution and machines and supplies will be [handled] at the Hummel’s office,” says Mitchell.
Most of those functions are currently performed at the BME’s site in Marcy, he says. Hummel’s will also “eventually” handle most of BME’s warehousing and delivery as well, he adds.
Hummel’s may start doing those functions for BME in early 2015, says Mitchell.
In addition to its corporate office in Mohawk, Hummel’s Office Plus has a sales office in DeWitt, and retail locations in Herkimer, Rome, Cortland, and Norwich, according to its website.
Mitchell contends that BME’s software, which allows it to monitor its customers’ copiers and printers, is one of the reasons Hummel invested in BME.
The software helps BME monitor its customers’ supply levels, enabling it to ship replacement supplies, if need be.
We’re able to be much more of a proactive company versus a reactive company,” says Mitchell.
Keeping it local
He noted the number of acquisitions in the office-supply business around the nation, including Xerox’s activity and Tokyo, Japan–based Ricoh Company, Ltd.’s acquisition of IKON Office Solutions, Inc. in October 2008.
Mitchell wants BME to remain a “local” business, he says.
“We really think the local company has value to add to the marketplace, so we want to be a local dealership, a local partner and help companies with their document management,” says Mitchell.
The 20-year veteran of the office-machine industry invested to secure a bigger piece of the BME ownership to “be part of something that’s growing, and I believe now is the right time with Canon in the greater Utica marketplace.”
As an authorized dealer for Melville, N.Y.–based Canon U.S.A., Inc., Canon had to “approve” the ownership transaction so BME could continue as one of its dealers, says Mitchell.
BME would like to add two full-time workers to its current staff of 12 full-time employees, before the end of the year. The new hires would fill positions in sales and service, says Mitchell.
“We’re looking to grow,” he adds.
He described 2013 as “a record year with double-digit growth. [In] 2014, we’re annualizing with the same double-digit growth over 2013,” he says.
BME works with “thousands” of customers, Mitchell adds.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

Dick Clark’s widow and Oprah help SU dedicate Newhouse facility
SYRACUSE — The late Dick Clark, a 1951 graduate of Syracuse University (SU), “loved” Syracuse and often told stories about his days on the SU hill. That’s according to his widow, Kari Clark, who also noted he “loved” show business and never thought of it as work. “I think his wish for all you students
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SYRACUSE — The late Dick Clark, a 1951 graduate of Syracuse University (SU), “loved” Syracuse and often told stories about his days on the SU hill.
That’s according to his widow, Kari Clark, who also noted he “loved” show business and never thought of it as work.
“I think his wish for all you students … [is] to find your chosen profession and enjoy it as much as he did and then make a living at it, too,” Clark told SU students at the Sept. 29 dedication ceremony for the new Studio and Innovation Center at the university’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
“He was a big fan of the school and annually hosted a group of our students who visited him in L.A. I know Dick would’ve loved this moment,” Lorraine Branham, dean of the Newhouse School, said in her remarks prior to introducing Kari Clark.
The new facility, which is part of an $18 million renovation of Newhouse 2, features the Dick Clark Studios and the Alan Gerry Center for Media Innovation.
The event also launched the beginning of celebrations acknowledging the Newhouse School’s 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey, the media icon who hosted her own TV talk show from 1986 to 2011 and now operates her own television network, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), accepted an invitation to help the school dedicate its new facility.
“Now what matters … that you have received this extraordinary gift is that you match the gift with your excellence. Energy for energy, excellence to excellence. Let the new generation of innovation come forth,” Winfrey said, just before the official ribbon cutting.
Prior to her brief comments during the dedication ceremony, Winfrey earlier attended and spoke during a dedication program in the Goldstein Auditorium in the Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center.
Both Branham and Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud also spoke at the same event.
In the outdoor ceremony, Syverud noted that the current “world of communications is so different” than it was in 1964 when the Newhouse School opened.
Through the years, the school’s commitment to ensuring student success has been “steadfast,” he added.
“The school has consistently expanded programs and facilities as needs and practices in this field have evolved. This state-of-the-art media facility is built on that commitment,” said Syverud.
The Newhouse Studio and Innovation Center will provide the school with a “cutting edge” media facility that gives students the “best possible” preparation for careers in the communications industry, according to an online news release at the Newhouse School website.
The Dick Clark Studios are named in honor of the entertainer, TV and radio personality, and 1951 SU alumnus Dick Clark. The studios are described as a “high-tech entertainment-production environment rivaling many Hollywood studios,” the school said.
The Alan Gerry Center for Media Innovation is named for Alan Gerry, the founder of Cablevision Industries.
Gerry and his wife, Saundra, made the gift that allowed SU to create the Gerry Center for Media Innovation, which is “an important part of this studio project,” said Branham.
The Newhouse School describes the center as the “creative hub where Newhouse expertise in content development and production will meet the latest media technology and programming trends.”
It also includes a digital-news center, a newsroom dedicated primarily to news, talk, and magazine-style production with multimedia capabilities and a file-based, digital-media environment, the school said.
In his remarks, Gerry told the students gathered that many of them enrolled at Syracuse because they’re “dreamers.”
“Make a wish … Make a promise to yourself. This is the place where wishes come true. This is the place where promises are fulfilled, and it’s up to you,” said Gerry.
Prior to the outdoor dedication ceremony, SU hosted a symposium on “The Future of Digital Media” in the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium of Newhouse 3, SU said. The event explored how data, branding, and experience are reshaping storytelling in the digital age.
The panelists included Mitch Gelman, vice president at Gannett Digital; Kristina Hahn, head of consumer packaged goods at Mountainview, Calif.–based Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and a 1998 SU graduate; and Larry Hryb, director of Xbox programming at Redmond, Wash.–based Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MFST) and a 1989 SU graduate, according to the school.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

OCC wins federal grant for food-industry job training
ONONDAGA — Onondaga Community College (OCC) had interest in two different applications that the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) was considering for job-training funding. One was the school’s individual application for funding. The other was a funding request from a consortium of community colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system that had
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ONONDAGA — Onondaga Community College (OCC) had interest in two different applications that the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) was considering for job-training funding.
One was the school’s individual application for funding. The other was a funding request from a consortium of community colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system that had submitted an application to the USDOL.
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) had announced his support for the SUNY application during a visit to Byrne Dairy’s pasteurization plant in DeWitt on Sept. 22.
The USDOL made its grant announcements in late September.
“The SUNY grant, unfortunately, was not funded,” Casey Crabill, OCC president, said in speaking with reporters on Sept. 30. She was responding to a question from the Business Journal News Network.
The federal government did, however, award OCC a $2.5 million grant for job training in the agribusiness food-processing industry after reviewing the school’s individual application.
OCC announced the grant award in a Sept. 29 news release posted on its website
“Under this grant funding, those are separate streams. They don’t compete with each other,” said Crabill.
The funding comes from the USDOL’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant program, OCC said in a news release.
The school plans to focus on the workforce-development needs of local employers and workers in the agribusiness and food-industry sectors.
It’s a “growing field,” said Crabill.
“It was cited in our region’s economic-development plan as a field for the future. I think that’s part of the reason our grant was successful is that we’re very tied in to a lot of community efforts in this industry already,” said Crabill.
OCC plans to refer to its program as the CNY Future Opportunities Onondaga Delivers Pathway Initiative (CNYFOOD), according to a news release about the OCC grant funding that Schumer’s office distributed on Sept. 29.
The school plans to partner with employers, nonprofit organizations, and the state of New York to develop the program, Crabill said.
The federal funding became effective Oct. 1, the beginning of the federal government’s new fiscal year.
“The first year is essentially a planning and curriculum-development year,” said Crabill.
The school hopes to create five “competency-based” learning programs that include food science, safety, and quality assurance; food production and processing; distribution and logistics; “train the trainer” supervisory training; and hospitality and food service, according to an OCC news release on the grant.
Those completing the program will have the skills to pursue more than 2,400 annual openings in Central New York and an estimated total of more than 12,600 jobs by 2020 at wage rates that “exceed regional averages for entry- and medium-skilled workers,” according to OCC.
Partners
The school has partnered with area employers on the job-training effort.
They include the Lysander location of Brecksville, Ohio–based Agrana Fruit US, Inc; Salina–based American Food & Vending; LaFayette–based Byrne Dairy, Inc.; Geddes–based Decorated Cookie Co.; Food Bank of Central New York; Van Buren–based G&C Food Distributors, Inc.; DeWitt–based Giovanni Food Co., Inc.; and Lynnfield, Mass.–based HP Hood LLC, which operates a location in Oneida; and Tops Friendly Markets.
Additional partners include CNY Works; New York State Department of Labor; CenterState CEO; the Work Train Collaborative, a local workforce-development initiative; Catholic Charities; Southwest Community Center; Small Business Development Center; JOBSplus!, a partnership between OCC and the Onondaga County Department of Social Services; the Troy, N.Y.–based Workforce Development Institute, which operates a local office at 731 James St. in Syracuse; the Manufacturers Association of Central New York, and the Onondaga Farm Bureau.
The list also includes education-sector partners, such as the Cornell University College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Morrisville State College, the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
OCC also lists partners that include the Global Food Protection Institute and International Food Protection Training Institute, which are headquartered in Battle Creek, Mich.; Washington, D.C.–based Grocery Manufacturers Association.
The community partners will help OCC develop “appropriate” training for the partner companies involved, said Crabill.
“The training has to meet employer needs, so we’ll be pulling employers in to make sure we understand exactly what kind of training people need but also the nonprofit side, which will help with referrals to our programs to get the right students into our programs,” said Crabill.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
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