Category Archives: Business News

The Manufacturing Institute (MI)—the workforce development and education affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers—honored two outstanding women from GlobalFoundries at their annual Women MAKE Awards.

Jennifer (Jenny) Robbins, senior director, Central Facilities, was recognized as a 2024 Women MAKE Awards Honoree, while Katelyn Harrison, senior integration engineer, was honored as an Emerging Leader. The Women MAKE Awards is a prestigious national program that honors women who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and excellence in their careers, representing all levels of the manufacturing industry, from the factory floor to the C-suite. 

For over two decades, Robbins has been an influential leader at GlobalFoundries. In 2023, she made a successful transition from a manufacturing leadership role to a global facilities role, where she built her new central facilities engineering team. In 2022, she established the Community Engagement Team at GlobalFoundries’ Vermont facility in Essex Junction, which has significantly boosted employee engagement, inclusion and belonging. She continues to be a mentor, recently serving as the executive sponsor of GlobalFoundries’ Early Tenure Professionals employee resource group. Robbins played a role in the final stages of enabling GlobalFoundries in Vermont to become its own electric utility, GF Power. She and the team are in the planning stages of installing solar arrays at the site. 

“I am empowered when my contributions positively impact my team, my company, and my community,” said Robbins. “Receiving the MI’s Women MAKE Honoree Award is a great honor, and I am deeply grateful.” 

The Women MAKE Awards are part of the MI’s Women MAKE America initiative, which is the nation’s marquee program to close the gender gap in manufacturing. Women account for about half of the U.S. labor force but represent less than one-third of the manufacturing workforce. Women MAKE America aims to build the 21st-century manufacturing workforce by empowering and inspiring women in the industry.

By Susan Elise Campbell

Herzog Law Firm, P.C., has expanded its presence in Saratoga Springs and is making further growth possible with a new location and a quadruple ribbon cutting that took place on April 25 at 60 Railroad Place.

With its flagship office in Albany and another location in Kingston, Herzog Law Firm is now in its 78th year of operation, said David A. Kubikian, principal, one of the firm’s three partners and hosts of the grand opening. 

“When I spoke a few words to our employees and guests at the event, I said that we are on the shoulders of all the previous attorneys who have done really good work here,” Kubikian said.

There were about 60 family members, friends, employees and business partners in attendance, including representatives of all four area chambers of commerce: Saratoga, Colonie, Adirondack Regional and Capital Region. A representative of each cut a ribbon and a member of Saratoga Chamber of Commerce served as master of ceremonies.

By Jill Nagy

Bakery Suzanne, a new bakery on Route 50 in Wilton, got off to a cautions start. It was open on April 29 for a “trial run,” just for one day. 

“It was our first morning in a new space,” owner Wilson Keenan explained, and they were just getting the ovens going. “We didn’t care if we even sold a loaf of bread.”

The following few weeks, Keenan planned to open for the weekend—Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Then, he said, “We will grow gradually to Wednesday to Sunday.”  On the first day, “there was not even a sign on the street,” he recalled. Now, he is ready to try to promote the business.

The bakery will be a wholesale business selling to restaurants, co-ops, and grocery stores, as well as a retail outlet. They use local grains and mill their own flour. The bread is made without yeast, “wild fermented.” Many of the pastries are based on croissants. “We are refining the classics,” Keenan said, “Nothing crazy.”

Saratoga Springs rower and Regatta Director for the Saratoga Rowing Association, Kristi Wagner, has been announced as one of the first 21 members selected to go to the Summer Games in Paris this July, by US Rowing. 

Wagner plans the Head of the Fish, among other high school races for SRA, with her doubles partner Sofia Vitas.

Together, Wagner and Vitas won the Bronze medal at the 2023 World Rowing Championships. The two women were part of the first round of rowers selected by the US Rowing Team to compete at the Olympics. 

Together they will be looking to return to the medal podium in the women’s double sculls in Paris. Now a five-time national team member, Wagner will be racing at her second Olympic Games, having finished fifth in the event in Tokyo. Also a five-time national team member, Vitas will be making her Olympic debut in Paris. 

Applications are now being accepted for those interested in being a part of the award-winning Leadership Saratoga program.

Sponsored by the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, this popular program is dedicated to the development of leaders who will serve their communities today and in the future.

The purpose of Leadership Saratoga is to inform and educate members of the community who want to ensure its success by giving of their time, talents, energy and expertise. This is often in a volunteer capacity such as serving on a board of an impact sector organization, a board of education, a land use board or becoming an elected official. Since the program’s inception in 1985, nearly 700 graduates have completed the program.

The 2024-2025 Leadership Saratoga program will run from September 2024 to May 2025. Program participants are engaged in a nine-month cohort with other participants where they explore team dynamics, leadership, creative problem solving, strategic planning, communications, board governance, development and quality of life, education systems, government and more. Insider tours and experiences, case studies and group service projects are also part of this dynamic development program.

By Jill Nagy

Keuka Spring Vineyard, a Finger Lakes winery, now has a tasting room and bottle shop in Saratoga Springs. Located in the Saratoga Marketplace at 454 Broadway, this is the first offsite tasting room and shop for the 39-year-old vineyard. There was a “soft opening” April 1 and an “awesome” formal ribbon-cutting on May 2.

The vineyard is family-run and owned by area growers. They produce and bottle a “diverse portfolio” of wines from grapes grown on more than 500 acres in Penn Yan, on Lake Keuka, according to marketing director Corinne Marriott. They grow most of their own grapes but also buy fruit from other growers, she said.

Samplers have a choice of three options: dry wines, including a dry Reisling; KSV Classic, a mixed variety; or sweet wines. Each flight consists of six wine samples. The price is $15.  If people like what they taste, they can buy a bottle; wine is not sold by the glass. They also do not sell any food. Much of the wine is from the vinifera grape, an Old World variety that no longer does well in Europe but thrives in New York State, noted Autumn Manning, the manager of the Saratoga outlet. Wine samples include several gold award winners and blaufrankish, a dry red wine that was the best New York State red wine of 2021.

By Jill Nagy

Keith Lamphere, owner of Clean Green Hauling and Removal, LLC, is a junk collector with a mission: to see that the junk he collects gets put to good use.

As he explained, he “make[s] people happy by taking the stuff” (for a fee). Then, he donates it to non-profit community organizations. Some of it, like furniture, kitchenware, and housewares may be used to help formerly homeless clients set up their first household. Other organizations sell the items and use the money for programs like summer lunches for children. Some organizations are happy to receive items even if they are not perfect “ but it’s gotta be clean.”  “Everybody takes different things,” he observes.

Back in 2021, Lamphere and his wife were looking for a way to give back to the community, he recalled. That impulse gave birth to the idea of his current company.

By Jill Nagy

Gabriel Frankewich bills himself as the Blade Doctor and tries to bring military precision to sharpening knives, blades, and surgical tools. Headquartered in several former garages in Ballston Lake, he does most of his work from his van

“I am in my van almost all day,” he said, bringing the business to the customer. He brings some very large jobs back to his shop. He describes himself as “detail oriented. . . . a little on the perfectionist side.” He attributes that to his military training and experience as an MP.

He covers a broad area, roughly from Lake George to the Catskills.

As a boy, he was fascinated by his grandfather’s grindstone and began grinding everything he could lay his hands on, including a shovel. His grandfather taught him how to use the grindstone properly and he was off to a lifetime of grinding and sharpening. In the military, he sharpened his buddies’ pocket knives. Later, when living in Israel, he spent so much time sharpening knives and utensils for other people that his father suggested that he make a business out of it. So, he did. He had a sharpening business in Tel Aviv, Israel, for three years before returning to the United States seven years ago.

Much of Frankewich’s current work consists of sharpening the surgical tools of area dentists, doctors, and orthodontists. He said that he wants to do more of that kind of work and that he expects, in another two years or so, to do that exclusively.

He has also done some training, including an eight-hour course for beauticians, teaching them how to properly sharpen their shears. 

By Christine Graf

After spending more than a decade in Albany, Centrotherm Eco Systems has relocated to 428 Hudson River Road in Waterford. A manufacturer of venting systems and accessories for HVAC systems, Centrotherm opened in Albany in 2009. Its parent company, Centrotec Industries, is headquartered in Germany.

“The company has over 100 years of history,” said Matthew Pryce, marketing and communication manager at Centrotherm Eco Systems. “We are the North American branch, servicing the United States and Canada.”

A plastics manufacturer, Centrotherm manufactures precise ventilation systems as well as exhaust systems and accessories for high efficiency heating appliances. Their products are utilized in the HVAC and plumbing industries in both commercial and residential applications. 

The company has experienced significant growth in recent years, and its staff has more than tripled in size since 2015, growing from 20 employees to 65. Centrotherm is also supported by outside sale representatives.