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Ed Boyer put everything on the line when he purchased a struggling Goodyear tire store in downtown Plattsburgh in 1987 with the help of two business partners. Boyer was preparing to move his young family from Plattsburgh to Glens Falls to work in a Warren Tire store there. He had already sold his home in read more

To many, transporting by rail seems antiquated and evokes images of 19th century industrialization. That is thanks to the decline of rail transport during deindustrialization that occurred throughout the Northeast in the 1970s. But in recent years, rail transport has increased nationally, and even more so in the North Country. From 2000-2010, rail transport increased read more

In March of 2020, when COVID-19 forced large parts of theNorth Country to socially distance and go remote, many of us wereoff the road and staying home. As the world has reopened, andpeople returned to their lives behind the wheel, it has become clearthat the time off has not – how can I put this read more

Did you ever wander around some large edifice to human ingenuity and wonder just how all those moving parts are coordinated? Perhaps your greatest concern at an airport is that your flight leaves on time and your bags arrive when you do. To make that happen, myriad tasks occur behind the scenes. At airports, those read more

The birchbark canoe, a flying car, high technology hybrid-electric buses, connections to a major water super-highway, and an alternate airport for space shuttle landings — these are all innovations central to our region’s prosperity. Those who have lived here for millennia know just how navigable our region is. Canoes connected Upper Canada, at the upper read more

While many in the area are familiar with Canadian companies like NOVA Bus andBombardier, not as many know about AQ Wiring, the manufacturer that produces thewiring and harnesses needed for many local transportation manufacturers. Formerlythe Quebec-owned company BC3G, AQ Wiring Systems has been in Plattsburgh insome form or another for over a decade and is read more

Outsourced manufacturing is the process of hiring a team of people outside of a company to assemble parts or to build an entire product. While there are many reasons why companies do this, some of the primary reasons for outsourcing are: Financial. Assets can be reduced or eliminated and cash flow increased. When a business read more

Claude Landry stopped in Plattsburgh on a trip to Montreal and fell in love with it. It was what he called “a twist of luck” that prompted him to move to the North Country and renovate an old building on Bridge Street for his flight simulation business. Landry grew up in Montreal and went to read more

Valorization, namely “enhancing the value”, refers to a process of changing residues (the by-products of a manufacturing processes— previously known as “waste”) into useful consumer products. These products can include quality chemicals, materials, fuels, and energy, as well as many other products beneficial to a local economy. Not surprisingly, valorization plays an integral part in read more

More than a decade ago we celebrated 400 years since Samuel de Champlain’s arrival on our lake and in our region. He was not merely a tourist sussing out interesting things in the area. His goals were decidedly commercial. The prevailing economic theory of his era was mercantilism. This theory claimed that the strength of read more