Nearly two years after heavy Lake Effect snow destroyed a local manufacturing facility - the company is celebrating its reopening. The two back-to-back storms that hit in mid-November 2014 dumped up to 7 feet of snow in parts of Western New York and claimed 13 lives. WBFO's Chris Caya has more.
Flexovit Abrasives, in Angola, was among the hundreds of buildings that suffered a major roof collapse from the weight of the "Snowvember" storm. On Wednesday, Flexovit's President & CEO, Thomas Calabrese, led a tour of the company's newly rebuilt facility.
"It's a joy for us. When the devastation happened it brought tears to our eyes, not only on the business, but also for our employees, being out of work and struggling to meet their mortgages and other things," Calabrese said.
Flexovit has been slowly bringing workers back. And Calabrese says, they're up to about 85 employees.
"To have them back, and they work very hard. Our employees are the best in the world. The most committed. They work in a difficult environment. Never complained," Calabrese said.
The company makes industrial grade abrasives for cutting and grinding metal. And rebuilding involved lots of new equipment.
"We have the most automated most modern abrasive manufacturing facility in North America and most likely the world," Calabrese said.
To mark the occasion, Flexovit received a commendation from Congressman Chris Collins (R-NY-27). He credits Calabrese for staying in Western New York.
"There's one thing we know about New York. It's the highest taxed, most regulated, least business friendly state in the nation. And yet Flexovit is thriving here because of the workers and the commitment of management to invest what they have to invest in in technology," Collins said.
Calabrese says, Flexovit plans to hire more employees in the near future.