Situated in Upstate New York, Oswego County is located centrally to New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Toronto and Montreal. A great location and a host of transportation options place Oswego County at the top of the list for manufacturing site selectors.
LOGISTICS
Oswego County is a truly multi-modal location, with access to ground, rail, air, and water transportation for shipment of goods. The county offers convenient access to Interstates 81 and 90 which provide north/south and east/west movement through the state. Over 25 carriers provide both local and long-distance trucking to and from Oswego County. Connecting lines enable transport to every major US market. Local carriers provide transloading from truck to rail and offer myriad warehouse storage options, including dry and climate controlled.
The Port of Oswego Authority is a deep-water port on the shores of Lake Ontario. As a hub in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System, it is part of over 2,300 miles of water transportation from Duluth, Minnesota to the Atlantic Ocean. The Port of Oswego provides on-dock rail and truck loading, making for a smooth transition of goods to market.
CSX offers daily rail transportation to Oswego County, with direct access at several sites and industrial parks. With a nearby rail yard, CSX provides access to more than 21,000 miles of track in 23 states and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, plus 70 ocean, lake and river ports. Coupled with nationwide transloading and warehousing, CSX makes rail a very viable transportation option for Oswego County businesses.
Syracuse’s Hancock International Airport is within minutes of Oswego County. In addition to world-wide passenger transport, Hancock has facilities for air freight transport, which includes a 53,000 sf cargo building. Oswego County has its own airport which is ideal for corporate, industry and private aviation.
UTILITIES
With a strong economic base in manufacturing, Oswego County is equipped with modern industrial infrastructure including heavy power and gas. Coupled with plentiful water and wastewater options, this infrastructure provides flexibility for light- to heavy-industrial uses.
SITES
Oswego County has Greenfield sites available that are ready to build on. Within the county’s industrial parks, most sites have utilities and other necessary infrastructure in place. Select sites within the industrial parks have had comprehensive site profiles performed. These profiles expedite the selection process by eliminating much of the due diligence work for the potential purchaser.
The Oswego County Industrial Development Agency recently purchased an additional 185 acres of industrially zoned land adjacent to the Oswego County Industrial Park to expand locations suitable for manufacturing. The site, which will be operated by Operation Oswego County, will feature large lots with modern infrastructure and excellent highway access. It will be ready for development soon.
SKILLED LABOR POOL
Oswego County also has a skilled workforce, with metal manufacturing and other industrial experience, who are ready to work. The workforce is supported by over thirty institutions of higher learning within fifty miles. These educational institutions work collaboratively with economic development organizations, workforce training centers and industry to train a skilled labor pool for advanced manufacturing. Recently, these partners developed an advanced manufacturing certificate program which provides a strong base in manufacturing practices including welding, CNC and CAD.
This past May, Cayuga Community College opened an Advanced Manufacturing Institute (AMI). Located adjacent to the College’s primary building on the Fulton Campus, the AMI is a 7,800 square foot facility that features industrial power and networking to support training units in pneumatics, hydraulics, motors, piping and industry-grade programmable logic controls stations, and a classroom for instruction. The facility will support students and employees looking to start or expand their careers, as well as provide employers with skilled workers.
TARGET MARKET
Oswego County has a well-established light manufacturing cluster, specifically in metal fabrication. With nearly 40 specialized machine shops and fabricators, Oswego County offers a great opportunity to businesses that can fill a niche within this sector or that can benefit from locating near this cluster. These businesses could include advanced manufacturing companies, suppliers and R&D firms.
The strength of this sector is due to interdependencies and collaborations between manufacturers within the cluster. Companies, such as EJ USA, Novelis, and Universal Metal Works, attribute their success to the availability of a skilled and educated workforce in metal manufacturing, a robust supply chain and a well-connected multimodal logistics network within hours of every major northeast market.
For more information about how Oswego County could meet your business’s expansion needs, visit us at oswegocounty.org.