No Solstice for this company's expansion plans

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN)....On the eve of its first anniversary as a spin-off from the Honeywell Corp., Solstice Advanced Materials is poised to invest $49 million in upgrading its Buffalo research and development hub.

The project is viewed as cementing the sprawling Peabody Street complex within the Solstice (NASDAQ: SOLS) global ecosystem.

Solstice employs 185 people - virtually all connected to the company's R&D and innovation network - with plans to hire as many as 15 related to a $1.4 million Empire State Development Excelsior grant and then as many as 30 additional new hires - all of whom have at least a four-year college degree.'

The expansion marks the second time in as many days that a local, publicly traded company announced expansion plans.

North Tonawanda's Taylor Devices (NASDAQ:TAYD) announced an $8 million expansion.

"Solstice is a global company, but it sees Erie County and Buffalo as a place worth investing in." said Lisa Chimera, Erie County Deputy Executive.

Solstice, whose local roots date back to 1955, views its Buffalo operations as its R&D, innovation and invention hub.

Advanced manufacturing innovations created in Buffalo find their way into a number of commercial and retail products ranging from refrigeration, air conditioning, data centers to aerosols.

Since the center opened 71 years ago, more than 3,700 patents have been issued from innovations created at the center and its staff.

"We take ideas from the lab to real world solutions," said Jon Herdlein, director of R&D.

By renovating and repurposing buildings on its Valley neighborhood campus, it wlll give Solstice "more room to discover" Herdlein said.

"We are all eager to see what comes out here next," said Hope Knight, Empire State Development president and CEO.

Knight said she will use Solstice's expansion plans as an example when she and her staff are courting other projects be in the Buffalo Niagara region or elsewhere in the state.

"It makes for a good story to tell other CEOs," Knight said.

The expansion and renovations will start later this fall.