Syracuse, NY - A growing, 64-year-old packaging company is planning to move out of Syracuse to larger quarters in Clay. HSM Packaging Corp., of 123 Larned St., has applied for site plan approval to relocate its manufacturing and warehousing to 4529 Crown Road. The 72,000-square-foot facility in Clay, which the company will lease, is twice as large as its current...
Syracuse, NY - A growing, 64-year-old packaging company is planning to move out of Syracuse to larger quarters in Clay.
HSM Packaging Corp., of 123 Larned St., has applied for site plan approval to relocate its manufacturing and warehousing to 4529 Crown Road.
The 72,000-square-foot facility in Clay, which the company will lease, is twice as large as its current building.
HSM Packaging employs 56 people and needs a larger facility for its growing operations, said Ben Walsh, deputy commissioner of the Syracuse Department of Neighborhood and Business Development.
Walsh said the current plant is “land-locked,” meaning it does not have enough room to expand. The company looked at other city sites but settled on Clay, he said.
“It’s a loss to the city of Syracuse, but overall it’s a gain for the region as a whole,” he said.
HSM makes folding paperboard packaging, mostly for food products such as cereals, baked goods, pastries and frozen foods. It is owned by Homer Martin, the company’s chief executive officer, and his wife, Sheila, who is the president.
Its Syracuse facility is in a state Empire Zone, making it eligible for state tax credits. It has told the state that employees at the plant are paid an average of $8.75 an hour.
The Clay location also is in an Empire Zone. The company must get permission from the city to make the move. State law requires companies moving within the state to an Empire Zone to obtain a “shift resolution” from the legislative body of the community they are leaving. The requirement is designed to prevent communities with Empire Zones from stealing employers from other communities within the state.
Walsh said the city administration does not object to the move because the company is staying and growing within the Syracuse area.
There have been at least two occasions in recent years when companies have moved from the suburbs into the city’s Empire Zone, and those communities gave their permission, he said. This is the first time a company has moved out of the city and into an Empire Zone in another community, he said.
The Common Council is expected to schedule a public hearing for June 21 on a resolution consenting to HSM’s move.
The Clay Planning Board is scheduled to consider the company’s application for site plan approval July 14.
Contact Rick Moriarty at rmoriarty@syracuse.com or (315) 470-3148.