In these challenging times, doing business in Binghamton makes a lot of sense. Our region is an easy three hours northwest of midtown Manhattan, situated strategically between Syracuse and Scranton along the bustling I-81 corridor. Greater Binghamton is Upstate New York's sixth largest economy generating nearly $7 billion in business activity per year. Binghamton is an affordable haven for high technology. We rank-along with San Jose, Cambridge, and Austin-as one of the strongest areas for innovation in the U.S. We have company clusters in aerospace, software, advanced manufacturing, communications, simulation, distribution and the services. We are 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. Impress, one of the world's leading can makers, broke ground in September on a $40 million state-of-the-art metal packaging plant in Conklin. The facility will be approximately 92,000 s/f and initially employ 75 people. There are plans for an expansion where employment could eventually be doubled. VMR Electronics, a fast-growing maker of electronic cables and wire harnesses for the defense business, is relocating and consolidating its operations into the former Ascendia building, a 160,000 s/f facility in downtown Binghamton. The company is making a $4.5 million investment including new equipment and plans to create more than 50 jobs. Emerson Network Power has opened a 40,000 s/f headquarters in the Charles St. Business Park in Binghamton. This world-class facility is already hosting visitors from around the world to showcase the company's global-leading technologies in power protection. There are several 5-6 acre sites available in the Charles St. Business Park. The park is in a New York Empire Zone as well as a federal HUB Zone. The Greater Binghamton Modeling and Simulation Coalition recently released a short video highlighting the many contributions our companies have made to the development of modeling and simulation in the U.S. and around the world. The video may be viewed on our website. Members of the Coalition including Binghamton Simulator, Binghamton University, Broome Community College, Concurrent, Diamond Visionics, D&R Technical Solutions, L-3 Link Simulation & Training, Rockwell Collins, RPA Electronic Solutions, Sarnicola Simulation Systems, Simulation and Control Technologies and Virtusphere will be participating in the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation & Education Conference in Orlando in December. Many regional companies enjoy a strong partnership with Binghamton University, a premier global public institution ranked by Kiplinger's Personal Finance as one of the best values in public colleges anywhere. The university features stellar academics, amazing research, and a strong international focus. The university was recently ranked #44 on the Sierra Club's list of cool schools. 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. According to U.S. News and World Report, Binghamton is the most affordable place to retire in the U.S. The median sale price for an existing single family home in 2009 is holding steady at $109,000 and up more than 7% since 2007. Binghamton's superb transportation system makes it possible to get to the Adirondacks, the Poconos, and the tremendous 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, including a searchable property database, an interactive profile of the region, and a link to our incentives and programs. We invite you to sign up for our Twitter feed, BinghamtonBiz, where you can follow the latest developments in the Binghamton market. As quality of life becomes increasingly important to overall business success, we encourage you to consider Binghamton. Patrick Doyle is the director, business development, Broome County IDA, Binghamton, N.Y.