As quality of life becomes increasingly important to overall business success, consider Binghamton

Spring is a great time to explore the benefits of doing business in Binghamton. Our region is an easy three hours northwest of midtown Manhattan, situated strategically between Syracuse and Scranton along the bustling Interstate 81 corridor. Binghamton is a haven for high technology. We rank - along with San Jose, Cambridge, and Austin - as one of the strongest areas for innovation in the United States. We have company clusters in aerospace, software, advanced manufacturing, communications, simulation, distribution and the services. Binghamton is home to household name companies like Lockheed Martin, Gannett, Rockwell Collins, IBM, Frito Lay, L-3 Communications and BAE Systems along with a range of smaller firms who like our combination of work and play. Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson, is building a 40,000 s/f headquarters in the Charles Street Business Park in Binghamton. This world-class facility will host visitors from around the world and showcase Emerson Network Power's global-leading technologies in power protection. The Charles Street Business Park is a partnership between the City of Binghamton, the State of New York, and my agency, the Broome County IDA. The State and the Broome County IDA are each investing $1 million in infrastructure to make Charles Street a 21st century high-technology corporate park. A number of 5-acre parcels are available. Please contact me for more information. Maines Paper and Food Service, one of the world's largest food products distribution companies, will soon begin construction on an 80,000 s/f addition to its corporate headquarters located just outside Binghamton. This enhancement will give the company much-needed refrigeration and storage space. Fed Ex Ground is near completion of a 62,000 s/f package distribution center in the Broome Corporate Park just outside Binghamton. This facility is expected to employ about 90 people both full and part-time. Microdyne Outsourcing, a subsidiary of L-3 Communications that specializes in technical support and customer care services, has a new operation in the Edwin A. Link Center in Binghamton. The company anticipates hiring more than 350 people by the end of 2008. Microdyne joins Diversified Information Technologies, another recent arrival to the Edwin A Link Center. Diversified is a comprehensive information management company based in Scranton, Penn. Many regional companies enjoy a strong partnership with Binghamton University, an education powerhouse ranked by Kiplinger's Personal Finance as one of the best values in public colleges anywhere. The University recently opened the Center for Advanced Microelectronics Manufacturing, a partnership involving Binghamton, Endicott Interconnect Technologies and Cornell. The center will create a new generation of electronic components with a variety of military, homeland security, and energy applications. In late 2007, Endicott Interconnect Technologies announced projected sales of $363 million, representing year over year growth of 66.2%. In Binghamton, we like to brag about our quality of life. It means excellent schools, an opera and a symphony, strong minor league baseball and hockey, Division I athletics, and a fast-growing arts scene. This summer Binghamton will be the proud host of the Dick's Sporting Goods Open on the Champions Tour, the Empire State Games, the Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally, and the Chris Thater Memorial professional bicycle race. We invite you to join us for one of these events and learn more about all we have to offer. Binghamton's amazing transportation system makes it possible to get to the Adirondacks, the Poconos, and the tremendous fly-fishing along the Delaware River in a matter of hours. And if you like winery tours and tastings we are a short distance from the Finger Lakes, one of the Wine Spectator's emerging wine regions in the world. For more on business in Binghamton, visit the BCIDA's new website, www.bcida.com including a searchable property database, an interactive profile of the region, a link to our incentives and programs and much more. As quality of life becomes increasingly important to overall business success, we encourage you to consider Binghamton. Contact me today to find out more. Patrick Doyle is the marketing director for Broome County IDA, Binghamton, N.Y.