By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
ELLICOTTVILLE — Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency members on Tuesday welcomed a new manufacturer to the village of Cattaraugus.
Daich Coating Corp., an Ontario company that makes proprietary coatings has purchased the former SetterStix plant on Main Street in Cattaraugus, a former manufacturing facility that has been vacant for the past few years.
The building contains five truck loading docks and 60,000 square feet of space.
Peter Daich, president of the company, said he has been looking for an opportunity to develop a U.S. presence to make the coatings for a long time. The water based DIY products are sold in stores like Home Depot, Lowe’s and Minnards, he said.
Daich Coatings request for sales tax and mortgage recording tax breaks and 15-year manufacturer’s payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) was approved. Property taxes on the property are $33,000 a year.
The IDA board approved $24,000 in sales tax exemptions on $300,000 in approved purchases. The purchase price was said to be $1.1 million. The value of the mortgage recording tax and PILOT were not immediately disclosed.
“I’ve been thinking about coming to the U.S. for a number of years” – back to the early 2000s, said Daich, whose father founded the company in 1993. “I wanted it (product) to say Made in the USA. He said he felt it would boost U.S. sales.
IDA board member Brent Driscoll said the company he worked for, Cutco, found the Made in the USA brand to be very helpful in its sales.
The Cattaraugus plant will be the U.S. manufacturing and distribution hub, Daich said. “We want to be part of the community.”
Daich Coatings Corp., plans to hire 15 to 20 employees in the first two years. The average salary of the full time jobs is $44,000. Annual payroll would range from $670,000 to $750,000.
Daich said the plant “has a ton of potential,” and that he plans to start bringing in equipment soon and hopes to begin production in December. All U.S. products will be made in Cattaraugus, he said.
Daich said Cattaraugus “is not as isolated as people would make it sound,” He doesn’t foresee any issues in getting raw materials or finished products to market. Amazon is a big customer, he added.
The products contain real stone and can be rolled on surfaces for a tough coating, Daich said. It can stand up to Cattaraugus winters, repelling both salt and water and is made to be driven upon.
IDA board member Ginger Schroder suggested recent U.S. tariffs may have speeded up Daich’s plans for a U.S. manufacturing site.
The IDA board also approved a resolution objecting to New York state’s upcoming ban on gas-powered stoves and furnaces in new residential and commercial buildings.
IDA Executive Director Corey Wiktor and the IDA board voiced support for U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy’s energy choice legislation.
The IDA is also promoting the launch of the new rail bike operation by Revolution Rail Oct. 2-4 in the village of Cattaraugus. Rail bikes will carry people for three miles and back along the New York and Lake Erie Railroad line, the former Erie Railroad that was built by Irish immigrants in 1851.
The rail line, which was washed out in four places above Cattaraugus and has gone unused for nearly 20 years, is owned by the IDA, which agreed to a seven-year lease to Revolution Rail earlier this year. The company operates in several places across the country, including one in the Adirondacks.
“It offers some of the best views in the county,” said Wiktor. The line overlooks a portion of the gorge along the South Branch of Cattaraugus Creek, he added.
Cattaraugus County lawmakers agreed to repay the $120,000 the IDA was charged for rail work needed to reopen the three-mile section above Cattaraugus. “The topography and slope make it the prettiest and the most problematic on the line,” Wiktor said.
The track was in rough shape even before the flood of 2009 struck the area. Almost 150 feet of track was hanging in mid-air, Wiktor said.
The Revolution Rail site opening in Cattaraugus is designed to compliment the village’s ongoing economic development efforts — including projects stemming from the village’s $10 million Downtown Revitalization award from New York State.
