Binghamton's strategic location and high technology rank make it a strong area to do business

This summer we invite you to explore the benefits of doing business in Binghamton. Our region is an easy three hours northwest of midtown Manhattan, situated strategically between Syracuse and Scranton along the bustling I-81 corridor. Binghamton is a haven for high technology. We rank-along with San Jose, Cambridge, and Austin-as one of the strongest areas for innovation in the country. We have company clusters in aerospace, software, advanced manufacturing, communications, simulation, distribution and the services. Binghamton is home to household name companies like Lockheed Martin, Gannett, Rockwell Collins, IBM, Frito Lay, L-3 Communications and BAE Systems along with a range of smaller firms who like our combination of work and play. Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson, is building a 40,000 s/f headquarters in the Charles St. Business Park in Binghamton. This world-class facility will host visitors from around the world and showcase Emerson Network Power's global-leading technologies in power protection. The Charles St. Business Park is a partnership between the city of Binghamton, the state of New York, and my agency, the Broome County IDA. The state and the Broome County IDA are each investing $1 million in infrastructure to make Charles St. a 21st Century high-technology corporate park. We were delighted when FedEx Ground decided to expand in Binghamton. The company has just completed a 62,000 s/f package distribution center in the Broome Corporate Park a few minutes south of the city. This facility will ultimately employ more than 90 people both full and part-time. Construction began late this spring in our area on the Millennium Pipeline, a 182-mile natural gas pipeline that will stretch from Corning, N.Y. to Ramapo, N.Y. The pipeline, with more than 1,100 workers, was facilitated in part by the Broome County IDA. Economic impact on the region is projected to be in the millions of dollars. The project is expected to be complete by the fall of this year. Many regional companies enjoy a strong partnership with Binghamton University, an education powerhouse ranked by Kiplinger's Personal Finance as one of the best values in public colleges anywhere. The university recently opened the Center for Advanced Microelectronics Manufacturing, a partnership involving Binghamton, Endicott Interconnect Technologies and Cornell. The center will create a new generation of electronic components with a variety of military, homeland security, and energy applications. In Binghamton, we like to brag about our quality of life. It means excellent schools, an opera and a symphony, strong minor league baseball and hockey, Division I athletics, and a fast-growing arts scene. The BCIDA is a proud sponsor of the Dick's Sporting Goods Open on the Champions Tour held recently over Independence Day weekend at the En-Joie Golf Course in Endicott. Dick's, one of the largest sports retailers in the U.S., was founded in Binghamton. Also this summer, the region will host the Empire State Games, the Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally, the Levene, Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger, and the Chris Thater Memorial professional bicycle race. We invite you to join us for one of these events and learn more about all we have to offer. Binghamton's transportation system makes it possible to get to the Adirondacks, the Poconos, and the fly-fishing along the Delaware River in a matter of hours. And if you like winery tours and tastings we are a short distance from the Finger Lakes, one of the Wine Spectator's emerging wine regions in the world. For more on business in Binghamton, visit the BCIDA's website, which offers a searchable property database, an interactive profile of the region, a link to our incentives and programs and much more. As quality of life becomes increasingly important to overall business success, we encourage you to consider Binghamton. Contact me today to find out more. Patrick Doyle is the marketing director at Broome County IDA, Binghamton, N.Y.