Post by Atticus Pizzaballa on Dec 24, 2023 12:12:17 GMT -5
ECR International to shut down Utica manufacturing operations Jan. 4
By Thomas Caputo | Staff Writer | TCaputo@RNYmedia.com Dec 23, 2023 1
UTICA — ECR International is less than two weeks away from closing their doors and shutting down their operations in Utica, leaving behind a manufacturing facility and a 95-year-old legacy. The manufacturing company is well known for their HVAC brands, including Utica Boilers.
On Oct. 6, the company announced their planned departure from Utica, moving operations to their facility in Dunkirk, around 50 miles south of Buffalo. ECR International released a statement indicating that the planned move aimed to consolidate the business and maintain manufacturing operations in New York.
“The logistics involved with maintaining two separate facilities does not align with optimizing manufacturing capabilities. ECR International recently invested over $2 million in our Dunkirk, New York facility to streamline our operations and increase productivity,” the statement read.
The consolidation affected forty manufacturing jobs at the 2201 Dwyer Ave. location in Utica. ECR officials offered the displaced employees opportunities to transfer to the Dunkirk facility.
An additional 35 employees at ECR’s Utica facility will stay in the area, as ECR International intends to keep some operations locally.
“ECR International has been an integral part of the Utica community since our founding in 1928 and ECR International will continue to have our customer service, technical support, finance, marketing and engineering operations maintained in the Utica, New York area,” the statement continued.
Another way ECR International will have a continued presence in the region is by keeping their longstanding relationship with the Boilermaker Road Race, as the founder and namesake of ECR International, Earle C. Reed, was also the founder of the Boilermaker. The company’s Utica Boilers brand has been a sponsor of the race, and their facility was utilized by Boilermaker officials for storage, given the close proximity the facility has to the race’s starting line on Culver Avenue.
According to comments Boilermaker Road Race President Mark Donovan made during a press conference earlier this week, there will still be a relationship between the two entities upon ECR’s departure.
www.romesentinel.com/news/ecr-international-to-shut-down-utica-manufacturing-operations-jan-4/article_cc8d71b4-a0da-11ee-9974-93e70486b6ae.html