President Frank Suits Jr. said the expansion located on Jones and Gifford Avenue in Jamestown is a testament to the support from local government and a strong labor force.

On Friday, county and city officials paid a visit to Suit-Kote Corporation to cut the ribbon with Suits Jr. on the new $937,000 building. The facility houses a vehicle maintenance garage, office space, a vehicle wash bay and parts storage.

Headquartered in Cortland, Suit-Kote is a privately owned asphalt product manufacturer and a road construction and asphalt applications engineering company.

In 2015, Suit-Kote began to work with city and county officials to acquire three acres of land adjacent to their existing facility. Once the property was acquired, demolition began on an old building at the site followed by the construction of a new warehouse.

Suit-Kote Corporation completed at $937,000 expansion project next to their Jones and Gifford Avenue location last year. The company acquired three acres of property, demolished an old building on the site and constructed a new general maintenance and office building. P-J photo by Jimmy McCarthy

The Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency assisted in Suit-Kote’s endeavor by providing a tax lease and a payment in lieu of tax agreement. Suits Jr. thanked the city and county for the support from an economic and cooperative perspective.

“We’re located in many communities throughout the state, and honestly, I’m not accustomed to being treated with this much support,” he said. “Just from a pure cooperation perspective, I think Chautauqua County and the city of Jamestown are certainly pointing out to Suit-Kote that we’re welcomed in this community. Our company is extremely proud to be involved in the community.”

The 96-year-old family business originated in Watkins Glen. Through time, the company grew to 26 locations in New York and Pennsylvania. Suit-Kote Corporation established a home in Jamestown in the early 1990s.

Today, the company’s Jamestown location has 100 employees.

“Obviously, we’ve made a long-term commitment here,” Suits Jr. said. “We couldn’t do that without the local leadership that exists with Gary Risley, general manager, and his team and the labor force. We struggle seeing strong labor forces in some of the communities that we work in. That’s not a struggle here. We’re proud of the employees here and thus we’ve committed to the future.”

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi said sections of 30 city streets will receive Suit-Kote asphalt product. Teresi said the company has done wonders over the years with the site through cleanup and putting it back into productive use.

“We’re proud to house them here in the community and we’re also very happy to be a good customer,” he said. “The purpose of their product is to extend the useful life of asphalt streets. The product works well.”

County Executive Vince Horrigan said he was excited to hear about the company’s strong labor force. Horrigan also credited the IDA and Carol Rasmussen, business development manager, for their involvement and support.

“This is about coming together to support business because that’s what it is all about in Chautauqua County,” Horrigan said.

Other officials joining the visit were Vince DeJoy, city development director; Jeffrey Lehman, city public works director; George Borrello, county legislator and IDA board member; and Michelle Turner, vice president of marketing for the IDA.