SYRACUSE — ZeroDraft opened its third office in January and has plans for even more expansion in 2013 or 2014.

The Syracuse–based company provides services like insulation and air sealing, replacement windows and doors, energy assessments, heat and cooling, and more to residential and commercial customers. The firm’s third office, in Buffalo, opened last month with six employees, plus another three coming on board in early March, ZeroDraft Chief Operating Officer Mike Borek says.

By early July, the company expects to have 15 employees in Buffalo and 17 to 20 by the end of the year. The expansion to western New York comes on top of the addition of 20 new employees companywide in 2011, Borek says.

ZeroDraft now employs about 90 people.

Buffalo’s housing stock is similar to Syracuse, Borek says. There’s just more of it.

“It’s bigger on all fronts,” he says. “And we felt like a lot of the things that would plague a home in Central New York would be the same there.”

Distance wasn’t a factor either. The company has already learned to manage a remote office with its Albany location and the distance from Syracuse to Buffalo is about the same.

Also, the company’s two previous markets were doing well.

“We did see good growth from our existing markets,” Borek says. “That’s what gave us even more confidence to expand.”

ZeroDraft will focus initially on residential work in Buffalo, Borek adds. The jobs tend to be smaller in scale and can be completed more quickly than commercial projects, so the company is able to ramp up the residential side of the business faster. 

But Borek says ZeroDraft will start seeking commercial work in Buffalo this summer. Some of the new hiring expected this year will come as the commercial business in the market grows.

Companywide, the commercial-residential split is about 50-50, Borek adds.

He says the firm is definitely looking at expanding to a fourth market. Rochester, the Southern Tier, and the Hudson Valley are all potential targets for a future location in the next few years, Borek says.

ZeroDraft’s growth has been driven in part by its sector, he adds. Interest in areas like building performance and energy efficiency has been rising in recent years.

Government incentives have also helped.

ZeroDraft expanded to Buffalo under a new brand name, UltraSpaces. The company will also use the new name in any future new markets, Borek says.

The business will continue to use the ZeroDraft name in the Syracuse and Albany markets since it already has such high brand recognition in those areas. But for the future, Borek says the firm wanted a name that implied a broader scope.

The name ZeroDraft, he says, could insinuate a focus on only air sealing and insulation. And while the company already provides services beyond those two, it may look to add even more in the future.

ZeroDraft has plans to start working with renewable energy, particularly solar power, Borek says. That could include solar-powered hot-water systems as well as the use of solar cells to generate electricity.

“We like the generality of the name,” Borek says. “It could accommodate growth into other energy-related areas.”   

SYRACUSE  —  Organizers of CenterState CEO’s annual business show are making several moves this year — on the map, on the calendar, and in planning and promoting the event.

CenterState has decided to hold the show, which is in its 20th year, on Oct. 25. That is about seven months later than it has been held in past years.

It also chose to return the show to the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center at the Oncenter in downtown Syracuse. The event has not been held downtown since 2007, and has been at the New York State Fairgrounds in Geddes in recent years.

“We wanted to bring something bigger and better to the business community,” says CenterState Vice President of Chamber Services Jane Amico. “[Bringing the show downtown] really provides some great access in a venue that is really conducive to trade shows.”

This will mark the first time the show has ever taken place in the fall, Amico says. Last year, the show was held March 24. But the October date is a better fit for businesses, according to Amico.

“Companies are making their critical business decisions in the fall,” she says. “It’s the time that we have heard back from our members is the best time.”

CenterState CEO is a private, not-for-profit business-leadership and economic-development organization that covers 12 counties and represents more than 2,000 members. 

The location and date aren’t the only changes for this year’s show, which CenterState is calling the Time Warner Cable Business Class CenterState Business Showcase. CenterState is also revamping the showcase to improve its quality and increase its regional presence, Amico says.

The organization is partnering with Syracuse–based Galaxy Communications to upgrade the show. Galaxy is a radio-station owner that also has an events division, called Galaxy Events. That division helps put on events such as Onondaga County’s Lights on the Lake and also owns Taste of Syracuse. 

Galaxy Events will help find sponsorships for the business showcase and build its marketing. Galaxy Communications owns 14 radio stations in Syracuse, Oswego, and Utica, and it will advertise the business showcase on those stations, according to its president and CEO, Edward Levine. 

Galaxy Events is also bringing some major speakers to October’s show, Levine says. They include former Syracuse University running back Floyd Little, who owned automobile dealerships after he retired from football, and Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc. co-founder Jerry Greenfield.

The show’s roster of speakers is not yet complete. Galaxy plans to add more speakers who play a major role in the business world, Levine says.

“It’s going to take a decidedly national profile with an emphasis on what’s happening locally and regionally in upstate New York,” he says. “Our goal is not to have it be the best business show ever in Syracuse. Our goal is to have it be one of the better business shows in the United States.”

Galaxy is taking financial responsibility for improvements such as bringing in the speakers, according to Levine. He said the company’s commitment is “well into six figures” but did not disclose a specific amount.

“Obviously the speakers come with a price tag, and trying to upgrade the show, there’s going to be increased expenses,” he says.

CenterState CEO and Galaxy have signed a two-year contract to work together on the business showcase for two years. A ticket to attend this year’s show will cost $5, and CenterState expects this year’s event to attract more than 8,000 attendees.

Prices for exhibitors are not changing from last year, Amico says. Last year, exhibitors who were CenterState members paid between $575 and $725, depending on their number of employees. Non-members paid $675 to $825. Anyone who wants to reserve exhibit space can do so at CenterState’s website, www.centerstateceo.com.

SYRACUSE  —  Solvay Glass is preparing to open a new window of opportunity this spring with a renovated showroom. 

“Getting people into the showroom is going to be exciting now,” says Lisa Husnay, marketing director at Solvay Glass. “We’ve got beautiful displays.”

The business is in the process of redoing the showroom at its headquarters at 735 Erie Blvd. West in Syracuse. Improvements include new lighting, new tile floors, and fresh product displays. Workers are also moving some showroom walls to give the area a more open feel.

Solvay Glass employees are performing the renovations, which are scheduled to be completed in time for a grand showroom opening in April. The remodeling will likely cost between $75,000 and $100,000, although the company does not have a final price tag because the work is not complete.

The Syracuse headquarters, which is the company’s only location, is 20,000 square feet. About 7,000 square feet are dedicated to showroom and office space, while warehouse space makes up the remaining 13,000 square feet.

Solvay Glass has owned the building since 1995, when it purchased the structure for $450,000, according to records from the Onondaga County Office of Real Property Tax Services. Solvay Glass’s original home was 1209 Milton Ave. in Syracuse.

Solvay Glass installs storm doors, windows, custom-designed shower enclosures, mirrors, and sunrooms. It also repairs glass and screens, finishes basements, and installs bathtubs and bath liners.

In February, the company switched to a new bathtub and bath-liner supplier — Palatine, Ill.–based Bath Planet. The new supplier’s products come in a range of colors and styles that are a far cry from traditional white bathtubs, Husnay says.

“A liner is a liner — that’s what we all fell into,” she says. “Now? No way. It’s more exciting. It’s one of the things you look for.”

The new line of bathtubs should help Solvay Glass increase its share of the Central New York bath market, according to Charles Cometti, company owner and general manager.

He estimates the business has about 5 percent of the local bath market now, but believes it could grow to 15 percent to 20 percent.

“This is like the next generation of bath and shower remodeling,” he says. “It meets the styling of the bathrooms today.”

And bathrooms are often in need of updating, according to Cometti.

“Bathrooms get dated relatively quickly today,” he says. “Unfortunately, today builders are using less-expensive materials just to stay competitive.”

Cometti, who is the son of Solvay Glass founder Henry Cometti, declined to name the company’s former bathtub supplier. He also did not reveal the share of the company’s business that comes from bathtubs and bath liners.

Solvay Glass generated between $4 million and $5 million in revenue in 2011, Cometti says. He expects that to grow 10 percent or more in 2012, which would put revenue over the $5 million mark.

He also expects to boost employment in the next several years. Solvay Glass currently employs 35 full-time employees and 12 to 15 seasonal workers. The business could expand its work force by about 10 percent over two years, Cometti says. That would match the company’s employment growth in recent years — its employment rolls grew by 10 percent in the last two years.

Solvay Glass serves areas within a 60-mile radius of Syracuse. Cometti says the business may consider expanding its territory in the next year to 90 miles or 120 miles. However, that expansion would not involve adding a second location.

OSWEGO — Gentiva Health Services, Inc. decided to move from its home of five years in Oswego to accommodate increased staffing levels that left its longtime office bulging at the seams.

“We’ve really just outgrown the space,” says Bernadette Schuffenecker, branch director of Gentiva’s Oswego office. “We would have been happy to stay [in place] if we weren’t growing.”

The home-based health-services provider decided to relocate its Oswego office from 335 W. First St. to 19 Fourth Ave. in Oswego. It had been looking for new office space for about a year, Schuffenecker says.

Gentiva’s new office is 4,940 square feet, giving it more space than it had at West First St., where it leased 3,500 square feet. The company is leasing its new home from Hillside Commons, LLC.

The new space was necessary because Gentiva added 11 employees in Oswego in the last year. It had 17 full-time employees and two part-time workers at the beginning of 2011 and now employs 27 full time and three part time.

It made the new hires because the number of patients in Oswego County grew, Schuffenecker says. The office served about 125 patients at the beginning of 2011, while it now serves 190.

Gentiva Health Services, Inc. is a national home-health and hospice company based in Atlanta with more than 475 locations across the United States, including Central New York offices in Auburn, Liverpool, Oswego, and Utica. Its New York locations do not provide hospice services, according to Schuffenecker.

The company’s Oswego office provides nursing and rehabilitation services to senior citizens. Employees work with senior citizens in their homes but need office space to do paperwork, complete billing, and communicate with physicians, Schuffenecker says.

“A lot of our patients need physical therapy to get them moving so they aren’t homebound,” she says. “We do a lot of work after knee replacements and joint replacements.”

Gentiva also operates a program known as Safe Strides, aimed at people who have balance problems and are at risk of falling. Therapists work with patients so they can move around their homes and leave their homes safely.

Other therapy services the Oswego office administers include occupational therapy and speech therapy, Schuffenecker says. Those therapies can help seniors live independently in their homes, she adds.

The office’s nursing services include wound care and infusion services, which deal with intravenous medications. And the Oswego office helps set up medication plans and teach seniors about potential side effects from medications.

“Medication is a huge part of our job,” Schuffenecker says. “When you get older you can be on 10 medications, and it’s really difficult to manage the medications.” 

The senior-citizen population in Oswego County is growing, and Gentiva anticipates demand for its services there will increase in coming years, according to Schuffenecker. The company is prepared to hire more employees in Oswego if it needs to and has made sure the new Fourth Avenue office has enough space for growth, she says.

“We looked for a space so we could grow another 25 to 30 percent if we need to,” Schuffenecker says. 

Pat Benz of the Bell Group, a Syracuse–based commercial real-estate tenant-advisory firm, represented Gentiva as it searched for its
new home, along with Jim DiDia of the Chicago–based real-estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle. The Bell Group and Jones Lang LaSalle worked together to handle lease negotiations and space-plan consulting, while the Bell Group provided a market review.

The new space on Fourth Avenue required new walls, ceilings, and floors, as well as electrical, data-line, and phone-line work, according to Schuffenecker. Hillside Commons, LLC coordinated the work, and expenses were built into Gentiva’s lease, she says.       

WATERTOWN –– Waite Toyota of Watertown, a fourth-generation auto dealership that has been serving Watertown and the Fort Drum area since 1929, is expanding and remodeling its facility.

Darrick Pleskach, general manager, says the dealership is participating in the nationwide Toyota re-imaging plan, and is expecting to put up a new sales center as well as a new service center in this year’s expansion. 

Waite Toyota of Watertown, located at 18406 U.S. Route 11, bought the building next door from DealMaker Ford of Watertown two years ago and leased it to Davidson Ford, which had acquired DealMaker. Davidson Ford moved Feb. 15 to its new location, just down the road.

Waite Toyota plans to start its remodeling project soon, with its contractor, Adams Center–based Widrick Construction, says Pleskach. He couldn’t specify a date. Waite is also working with Gymo Architecture, Engineering & Land Surveying, P.C. of Watertown on the project.

Pleskach says the dealership’s current site is about 14,000 square feet, but will expand to about 28,000 square feet when the renovation of the former Davidson Ford building is finished. He says that Waite’s sales, service, and parts departments currently share a building. But after the renovation, the new sales center and new service center will be located in separate buildings.

The former Davidson Ford building will become the new sales center for Waite Toyota, and the existing Waite site will still house its service and parts departments. The project will be completed in two stages. The dealership will stay in its current home while the new site is under construction. Waite Toyota will then move into the refurbished former Davidson Ford building while construction crews work on the current Waite Toyota structure. 

Pleskach, who has been working at the dealership for 18 years, says the business completed its last remodeling project 17 years ago, but it was mainly a cosmetic change rather than a structural revamp.

“Since then we have added another building for reconditioning and environmental protection,” he says. “We have also added the Scion brand and a new showroom for that.”

Pleskach says the new Waite Toyota service center will have a drive-thru lane so that customers can leave their vehicles for service without having to brave the elements. 

“It will be covered and heated,” Pleskach says. “It will have garage doors on either side of the building, and basically, it’s going to allow the customers to pull up to the drive door, the light will turn green, the door will open, the customer drives in and is greeted by one of the assistant service managers.”

He adds that the new center will have an express lube, and the dealership will update its customer waiting area by adding flat-screen TVs, food, and beverages to make it more comfortable.

“We knew there was a need for both of these but we did not have the space or capacity to facilitate such services,” says Pleskach. “Customers want their services yesterday, so the quicker we can get to the basics, the happier they will be.”

Pleskach says the total cost of this year’s expansion will be between $2 million and $3 million. Waite Toyota will obtain much of the financing for the project through loans from area banks. He couldn’t name the banks or provide dollar amounts.

He says Toyota will not directly help fund the dealership’s revamp, but it helps reimburse the dealership by providing added inventory of vehicles.

“They give us extra product that we wouldn’t normally have,” he says, “and we pay for that as well, but they allow us to get it, basically.”

A difficult 2011

Pleskach says 2011 was a trying time for both Toyota and the dealership.

There was an earthquake and tsunami in Japan, “which caused us to be short on inventory throughout pretty much every aspect of the dealership … sales, parts, service … so last year was a down year for us,” he says.

Pleskach says the dealership sold about 1,100 vehicles last year, with about 60 percent of them new vehicles and 40 percent used. He says the dealership’s five best sellers in 2011 were the RAV4 (79 sold), Tundra (68 sold), Camry (64 sold), Corolla (56 sold), and Tacoma (53 sold). 

“Historically these numbers are higher, but as I said, we struggled to meet the demands of our customers due to the supply shortages caused by the disaster in Japan,” he says. “The supply has now caught up and we will be in full swing for 2012.”

Pleskach predicts that the dealership’s revenue will grow 20 percent to 30 percent this year compared to 2011.

As Waite Toyota is expanding its facility, Pleskach says the 32-employee business is also gearing up to hire more employees this year.

“We don’t know exactly how many [new employees]; I guess we are going to fill the positions as the need arises,” he says.

Waite Toyota now has openings for service writers and assistant service managers.

Pleskach says the business relies heavily on its service and parts departments, which accounted for about 60 percent of the dealership’s revenue in the past few years. And, he projects that it is going to be able to do a lot more service from the new service center.

“I think it will be a more comfortable atmosphere after we get all of the construction done,” he says. “But I think the biggest hurdle would just be getting through the construction …”

Waite Toyota is aiming to complete the remodeling project before next winter.

SYRACUSE — The Multicultural Association of Medical Interpreters of Central New York, Inc. (MAMI) recently relocated its Syracuse office to a larger space to accommodate increased demand for its interpreting services. 

The nonprofit MAMI’s new home at 731 James St., to which it moved on Jan. 23, is 968 square feet. That’s more than twice the size of its previous 400-square-foot location at 404 Oak St. 

MAMI is leasing the new office through Conifer James Street LP. The organization had leased its prior space on Oak Street from Longley Jones Management Corp. That building is now for sale, which necessitated all leaseholders to relocate, according to Evelyn Weisbrod, MAMI’s director of operations and regional manager of the Syracuse office.

With the demand for interpreters throughout the immigrant and refugee community, MAMI has grown extensively and needed more room. 

“Recently we received 210 calls for interpreters in one day,” said Cornelia Brown, executive director and founder of MAMI, which is based in Utica.

MAMI’s mission is “to ensure equal access to services for limited-English proficient persons by providing highly skilled language and cultural aid,” according to its website.

The Syracuse MAMI office now has eight full-time employees and one part-time worker. It is training an additional 15 interpreters as well. 

MAMI employs a total of 130 interpreters across all three offices of the nonprofit. Many of them work as independent sub-contractors from their homes.

The organization has an office in Albany, in addition to its Syracuse site and Utica headquarters, which is located at 309 Genesee St.

MAMI needed to expand in Syracuse because of the rise in clients. 

MAMI, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) corporation, funded this move with its own funds. The organization says it incurred costs of about $800 for the move. 

In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010, MAMI generated total revenue of slightly more than $1 million, according to the organization’s IRS Form 990. That was up from more than $804,000 in the prior year. As of June 30, 2010, MAMI had net assets or fund balances of more than $422,000.

MAMI generates fees for the translation services it provides to clients ranging from hospitals and physician practices to courthouses, police departments, schools, and businesses. The organization generated almost $950,000 in translation fees in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010, according to its Form 990.

MAMI charges slightly lower rates to nonprofit associations than to businesses in order to stay competitive. Weisbrod explains, “Even though we are a nonprofit, we charge for the services to the businesses, so that enables us to pay for the overhead.” The organization also receives some government grants to provide training. 

In 2006, the MAMI Syracuse office merged with Family Ties, now titled Reach CNY, and rented a small office in its facility. Within six months, MAMI found a separate space and continued to grow as an organization. “We just grew too much. Our first office just didn’t have the space for the staff that we needed.” Brown explained. The organization again faced space constraints at its Oak Street office in 2011.

MAMI hopes to continue its growth. In April, the organization will offer interpreter training in the Albany area. Along with the training, it hopes to expand on the number of languages it offers, as well as the number of interpreters for each language. 

Mary Stronach, the outreach coordinator for MAMI, stresses the need for it to provide 24-hour coverage to clients. “To ensure 24-hour coverage, right now we are sending interpreters from the Utica market over to Albany and Syracuse when necessary,” she says. MAMI currently provides interpreting services to about 1,400 people per month collectively at its three branches. 

When seeking prospective interpreters, the organization stresses the need for social and cultural skills. The interpreters must understand what they’re interpreting as well as the cultural differences. 

To illustrate the point, Brown shares a story about a Vietnamese man who was accused of child abuse because a doctor discovered a series of small red marks on his child’s back. What the doctor didn’t know was that it resulted from a an alternative form of medicine common in Southeast Asian households, called “coining,” used to treat children with respiratory problems. The practice involves rubbing heated oil on the skin, often the back or shoulders, and then vigorously rubbing a coin over the area until red marks are visible. This wasn’t child abuse; it was an accepted household remedy within that culture. The interpreters must know the differences among cultures to avoid misunderstandings like that, Brown explains. MAMI’s medical training addresses these kinds of differences.  

Brown’s background, MAMI’s start

Brown, who holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of California at Berkeley, founded MAMI in 1998. 

While working as an interpreter with refugee relatives and other community members, she saw that she didn’t possess the skills needed for the medical field. Brown’s main training was providing interpreting for speeches and lectures rather than medical training. 

She began attending weekend training sessions for medical interpretation and saw that other interpreters were running into the same problems with their work. Very few people had the skills needed for medical clients. Brown used this as her motivation to start a new organization to provide interpreting services in the health-care sector.

Brown continued to train to improve her skills and gather partners to help form the Multicultural Association of Medical Interpreters of Central New York, Inc. At the time, in 1998, she was working with 30 interpreters to form the association. 

Brown previously worked at Hamilton College as a full-time literature professor. When between jobs, she had the opportunity to devote time to the organization. She is a trained translator and saw the importance of establishing the organization. Brown planned MAMI’s first training through the Oneida County Health Department and the funding came from the New York State Department of Health. She brought in trainers from New York University, who taught a medical training course in the summer of 1998, which 17 people completed,

In June 1998, MAMI had 5 board members and filed for incorporation as a 501(c)(3).

The nonprofit began offering training that fall, with Brown operating the organization from her apartment in the Utica area. MAMI found space in the St. Francis de Sales building in August 1999 and began working with clients that Spring. In its first month of service, MAMI had just five appointments. 

Over the years, the nonprofit has moved beyond its medical-interpretation roots, branching out to provide interpreting for legal and court proceedings, police matters, schools, and even businesses that employ a large number of non-English speakers. 

MAMI started with commitment to quality and that continues today. Brown explains, “Our commitment was to help the community and to help it by providing highly skilled services necessary for communication and understanding.” MAMI offers services in 50 different languages and continues to expand.