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June 2, 2008

Local economic challenges debated

<a href="mailto:kdedam@pressrepublican.com">By KIM SMITH DEDAM</a>

WILLSBORO — Cedar lawn chairs and garden benches were comfortable seats for an uneasy conversation.

The showroom at Old Adirondack Furniture Co. became a meeting room for a few hours recently as members of the Local Government Review Board, a public-policy group representing towns within the Adirondack Park, discussed economics with Adirondack Park Agency Chairman Curt Stiles and Economic Affairs Staff Planner Steve Erman.

It’s discussion Stiles has stirred in recent months, seeking productive discourse as APA looks at long-term policy revision.



THREAT FROM OVERSEAS

Strict regulation and a compulsory rural market are often considered leading causes of business lost in the Adirondacks.

But Steve Maselli, president of Old Adirondack, said overseas manufacturing tenders the real challenge to economics here.

Moved from Keeseville over a decade ago, Maselli said he was able to expand a failing plant into the 100-acre industrial complex in Willsboro with a permit that took only 36 days to obtain and economic-development funding.

“Our biggest challenge now is the macroeconomic market,” he said of globalization and overseas manufacturing.

It’s the same concern that pulled Jarden Plastics and 68 jobs from Tupper Lake in April.

Fluctuating between 25 and 50 employees, manufacturing at Old Adirondack Furniture Co. shifts with the seasons, Maselli said, indicating a downturn in showroom sales during winter, though products move online year-round.



COPYCATS

But even catalog sales suffer offshore threats.

One catalog company that distributed Old Adirondack furniture was sold recently, and the new owners asked Maselli how quickly they could “go offshore.”

He told them never.

The catalog company has since made exact copies of Old Adirondack chairs, moved manufacturing to Vietnam and stripped “local made” from product descriptions.

The rip-off venture is not using Adirondack cedar or Forest Stewardship Council-approved wood.



ADIRONDACK BRANDING

But sticking to Adirondack roots has drawn the attention of a “hand-made” collection in California looking to add Old Adirondack to an exclusive line of products. The venture could deliver increased sales.

The silver lining Maselli sees, ironically, is soaring fuel prices.

The high cost of global shipping is creating a “local made” consciousness with affinity for green business practice.

It could boost local economies, if the region can muster support.

“The biggest asset is that we are located here in the Adirondacks,” Maselli told the Government Review Board and its APA guests.

“We’re not just selling a chair — we’re selling a region; we’re selling a lifestyle.

“People are now beginning to ask the questions: Where is this made? Is this green? Is it toxic paint? All of a sudden, I feel like I’m going with the current instead of against it.”

Maselli recommended that APA and the Review Board establish a “Made in the Park” brand for authentic products and manufacturing.

“We need marketing materials to express what this experiment called the Adirondacks is all about.”

He also encouraged a larger New York state agency incentive to “buy local” instead of buying to “low bid.”



APA, STATE CRITICIZED

Howard Aubin, a representative to the Review Board from Black Brook, suggested Maselli must have connections at APA to get his building permit so quickly. Aubin said he’s watched businesses flounder after waiting years for a building permit.

But Erman, who worked on the Old Adirondack move years ago, said the company was referred ad hoc through Essex County IDA.

Old Adirondack is now the only business operating in the Willsboro Industrial Park.

In fact, most industrial parks in Essex and other Adirondack Counties sit empty or nearly empty, even though buildings and lots are pre-permitted by APA and fitted with business-friendly amenities, including tax breaks, workforce training and cash incentives.

One of New York’s biggest assets in size also presents a big problem with funding dissipated over too diverse a population, Maselli said.

“And I Love New York doesn’t think about some of the special industries we have, like this.”

As a state agency, APA has some room to move in distinguishing an Adirondack incentive without making specific endorsements, Stiles said.

The Review Board passed a resolution supporting a “Made in the Adirondacks” marketing incentive program.



Email Kim Smith Dedam at:

kdedam@pressrepublican.com

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