Central New York Success Story
Welch Allyn: Cutting Edge, Home Grown Solutions for the Medical Industry
When
Dr. Francis A. Welch and William Noah Allyn developed and
built the world's first hand-held ophthalmoscope in the
early 1900s, they launched the start of a successful
business for
Welch Allyn.
Today, the global manufacturer of medical devices, products
and solutions used by caregivers in doctors' offices,
hospitals and emergency response settings around the world
is a worldwide leader in frontline care, and is supported by
more than 200 distribution partners and serves 100 countries
around the world.
How's that for a fourth generation family owned business
still headquartered less than ten miles from where it was
founded in Upstate New York?
More importantly, when pressured-like other companies-to
move out of New York State or the country, Welch Allyn
stayed close to its roots and its family in Skaneateles, New
York. So - why did they stay?
"We are owned by a family. Members of the fourth
generation live right here in Central New York, work for the
company and serve on the Board of Directors. They
continue the commitment of prior generations to sustainable,
long-term growth and profitability," said Welch Allyn
President and CEO Julie Shimer. "The Allyn family has
put us in a position to focus on long-term success,
innovation and the technologies that will advance frontline
care into tomorrow, rather than daily stock price and
quarterly reports."
Empire State Development has assisted Welch Allyn along the
way, most recently awarding the company with a $1.2 million
capital grant and a $300,000
Manufacturing Assistance Program (MAP) grant to assist
it with a $30 million expansion project that designates
Skaneateles, New York as the company's global headquarters
and retains its workforce of nearly 1,125 employees while
pledging to add another 175 workers over the next five
years.
ESD has also worked with Welch Allyn in the past. For
example, with a $250,000 grant in 2004 to help with the
company's investment of $2.3 million to relocate production
from facilities out-of-state to Skaneateles and with a
$500,000 grant in 2005 to help with the company's investment
of $2.3 million to purchase and install machinery and
renovations needed to accommodate its product line growth.
ESD has also assisted with training grants over the years.
"The continued growth and prosperity of Welch Allyn is a top
priority for ESD," Empire State Development
Central New York
Regional Director James Fayle.
"We value the opportunity to encourage proposed investment
and bring projects to fruition here in Central New York."
Another sign of the company's commitment to New York State
is a partnership it formed with the state and Syracuse
University to form a new technology incubator company, Blue
Highway, located at the Richard W. Newman Innovation Center.
The goal of the center is to accelerate the product
development process from ideation to conceptualization of
new technologies and inventions designed specifically for
the health care industry. This will allow Welch Allyn
to fill its product pipeline faster, with new technology to
address future customer needs, and with increased efficiency
and focus. In addition, there will be a greater
ability to collaborate with university researchers
throughout the world and leverage the many resources and
advantages that an innovation incubator is afforded.
"We're proud to have Welch Allyn headquartered here in
Upstate New York," said Fayle. "By choosing to invest
and create jobs in the Greater Syracuse region over the
years, Welch Allyn joins thousands of businesses that have
confidence in New York's economic future and its people."
As a benefit for Welch Allyn and other businesses, Central
New York enjoys a strategic location at the geographic
center of New York State with access to major markets in
Canada, the mid-Atlantic and New England; boasts a diverse
economy as well as a rich manufacturing legacy that is
developing strength and expertise in emerging clusters such
as bioprocessing and Cleantech; and possesses one of the
highest concentrations of undergraduate and graduate
students in the country, which is leading the region's
transition to a knowledge-based economy.
Look around next time you pay a visit to the doctor, you'll
likely see the Welch Allyn name on one of the medical
instruments. It's good to know you're supporting a New
York-based, family-owned business.