Canada’s Gracious Living opening N.Y. manufacturing plant

ALBANY, N.Y.—Canadian consumer products maker Gracious Living Corp. will open its first plant in the United States after buying property in the Buffalo, N.Y., area to build a plastics plant.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the board of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) approved the sale of land on Buffalo’s outer harbour to the Woodbridge, Ont., firm, where it will build a plastic extrusion and injection molding facility.

The plant will create 250 jobs.

“Gracious Living will breathe new life into two abandoned waterfront structures and facilitate private sector investment and job growth in Western New York,” Cuomo said in announcing the deal.

The 49.5-acre property includes a pair of derelict buildings, which Gracious Living plans to refurbish for manufacturing and warehousing.

According to Cuomo, Gracious Living paid $4.7-million for the site.

The firm has been working on a deal to expand to the region since November 2012.

It will receive $2-million in performance-based jobs program tax credits from the state in return for the company’s job creation commitments resulting from its investment.

“The U.S. market is an important part of our growth plans and having a U.S.-based facility demonstrates our commitment to serving and growing our U.S. customer base,” Gracious Living president Enzo Macri said.

“We have found the state and local governments very helpful and supportive in building the case for locating our first U.S. plant in Buffalo which we appreciate and look forward to working with them going forward.”

The deal could represent a total investment of as much as $27-million.