Michael Wasuk, Mayor Daniel Bianchi, and David McDermott toured the new facility on Monday morning.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Advance Machine & Tool was looking to move from Hancock to a building in New York because of the state's tax-free option.

The company was ready to grow and it was either move there or expand on its existing building.

Then owners Michael Wasuk and David McDermott sat down with Mayor Daniel Bianchi, who offered some $120,000 in loans through the city's small-business fund.

 

They have now doubled the sized of their facility with the purchase of the former Pyramid Mold on Greenway Street.

 

"The opportunity to grow in Pittsfield was greater than any other move," Wasuk said. "We talked with Dan [Bianchi] and liked what he was offering."

 

Through the city's Office of Community Development, the company now has $100,000 for capital improvements to upgrade its machinery. And through a round of $20,000 in technical assistance, Advance Machine bought new computers and design software.

 

"It's the latest and greatest software," Wasuk said. 

 

Ann Dobrowolski, who runs the city's loan and tax incentive programs, said the company's payments are deferred for three years and there is a job creation formula allowing $10,000 to be forgiven for every job created.

 

"It's prime rate and there is an opportunity for forgiveness based on job creation," Dobrowolski said.

 

The company formed in 2003 on Route 20 in Hancock and builds parts for an array of industries such as shocks for major vehicle manufacturers, medical devices, and the paper and baking industries. The staff numbers 12 and the owners say soon they'll ramp up to 16 and eventually 20 in the new facility as they dive deeper into the molding industry.

 

"It was a big undertaking to move the machines here when they were supposed to be running," Wasuk said the move the company began nine months ago. 

 

Particularly, Wasuk said the ability to hire "well-rounded" and experienced workers was a big driver of the decision to move to Pittsfield. He said it is more difficult to find employees in the more rural locations. 

 

Mayor Daniel Bianchi used Advance Tool & Machine as a prime example of the results of the city's economic development plan. 

 

"The advanced manufacturing is the backbone of Berkshire County," Bianchi said. "These are the kind of opportunities we want to provide."

 

The mayor said it's rare when major companies move their headquarters at all so the economic plan for the city is focused directly on building on the county's strengths, such as companies like Advance Tool & Manufacturing. The mayor is focused on building the city's advanced manufacturing, life sciences, and plastics industries.

 

"This is the kind of company that does great things. They are always forward thinking," Bianchi said. 

 

The mayor used the company of an example of how the small business loan program has helped local companies.

He elaborated that when the new Taconic High School is built with a revamped vocational program, the city will be working with manufacturers to ensure the students graduating have the skills they need. In this case, Bianchi said he'd be working with Wasuk and McDermott to determine what skills and machining work the company will need in its growth.

 

Further, the company's work in the plastics field can be buoyed by the Berkshire Innovation Center, which is eyed to bring top-notch research and development agencies - such as the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and UMass at Amherst's polymer research — to the city. Bianchi said Advance Tool & Machine will be able to tap into those resources to research and develop new products.

 

"We've been building the foundation to help businesses grow," Bianchi said. "It is a good, dynamic relationship we are trying to build." 

 

Bianchi started the small-business loan program when he first took office with $500,000. Since then, six companies have benefited from loans. 

 

Without the loans, Wasuk said it would have taken the company a long time before it would have been able to make the capital investments.

 

The mayor highlighted the company's use of the fund at a press conference Monday morning. The timing is only eight days before the election. But the mayor said the timing wasn't for campaigning purposes but was rather the time Advance Machine & Tool was completed with the move.

 

Wasuk said the company has only a few more things to do before it is settled in the new location and that's when the job growth and capital investments will begin.