In July of 2011, Niagara Lubricant’s former location burned in a devastating fire Video Link. In an effort to keep the business afloat, Chairman of Niagara Lubricant, Leon Smith III, moved the third generation family-owned business into a competitor’s space but found the location was inadequate.
“The space was not safe for my employees to work in, and not large enough for us to meet the demand of our customers.” Said Leon Smith III, “We had insufficient space to store inventory and to take advantage of supplier discounts, this also drove up shipping costs. We spent too much time moving inventory around the facility rather than manufacturing, packaging and shipping products. Without Grow America Fund and Eerie County IDA, I wouldn’t have been able get into the new facility.”
In July of 2014, exactly three years after the fire, Niagara Lubricant opened its doors to their new facility and got back to work in a space that is ideal. Healthy for the business and the employees.