Pyrotek unveils $23 million expansion

Pyrotek on Tuesday unveiled the company's $23 million expansion of its manufacturing facility and operations on Cory Drive in Sanborn.

The expansion was made possible through an award of just over $11 million from the U.S. Department of Energy, and a dollar for dollar investment by Pyrotek, as well as approximately $1.3 million in assistance from New York state and Niagara County.  The 93,000 square foot expansion will increase Pyrotek's production of a high performance anode material used within lithium-ion batteries.

Allan Roy, Pyrotek owner, president and CEO, was joined by various federal, state and local government representatives as well as customers, local business and community officials at a ground breaking ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new operations.

"On behalf of Pyrotek and our management and employees throughout the world and especially at our Sanborn operations, we are extremely grateful for the assistance provided by the Department of Energy, New York state and Niagara County for making this expansion possible," Roy said. "We have a great management team and workforce in place to support the market demand for the production of lithium-ion batteries for use in the automotive industry."

The  assistance provided by the state included funding from the Empire State Development Corp. and the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal and an allocation of hydro power from the New York Power Authority. 

The Niagara County Industrial Development Agency provided Pyrotek various incentives, including property tax abatements and sales tax exemptions. The company also is benefiting through training support provided by the Niagara and Erie County Workforce Investment Boards. Pyrotek also received an economic development grant from National Grid. In return, Pyrotek has committed to creating up to 50 jobs over three years. The company is significantly ahead of schedule in this regard as nearly 40 new employees have been hired to date.

"We are extremely optimistic that through the outstanding support of our great customer(s), government and other private sector partners that Pyrotek will fulfill its various obligations as a result of receiving this invaluable assistance," Roy said. "As a worldwide manufacturing company with various operations in the United States, we explored our options with regard to the best location for this expansion project, and New York state provided us the best opportunity for growth and success."

Pyrotek was founded in 1956 by Dale C. Swanson and Lowell Brown. The company is currently owned by Allan G. Roy who joined Pyrotek in 1968.

Based in Spokane, Wash., Pyrotek has 61 locations in 31 countries and a global workforce of approximately 2,100. Pyrotek is a privately owned, international organization, specializing in the development, manufacture and sale of high-temperature materials for industrial applications.

Pyrotek's Sanborn facility specializes in high temperature heat treatment of materials, manufactures graphite rods and tubes, BPF (bonded particle filter) media, and MAC (metaullics advanced ceramics). The plant serves the non-ferrous metals and specialty graphite markets and ships products worldwide.