O’Mara applauds today's celebration of job creation, manufacturing growth at Alstom manufacturing facility in Hornell (Read more and watch a video replay here)

Hornell, N.Y., November 30—State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C,I-Big Flats) today joined New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Alstom North American Senior Vice President Jerome Wallut, Empire State Development (ESD) President & CEO Howard Zemsky, Hornell Mayor Shawn Hogan, Hornell Industrial Development Agency Executive Director Jim Griffin and other state and local leaders at the  Alstom Transportation, Inc. manufacturing facility in Hornell to celebrate the continued growth of the rail car manufacturing industry in Steuben County and across the Southern Tier.   

In August, Alstom Transportation was selected to manufacture the next generation of high-speed trains as part of Amtrak’s $2.5-billion program to build its next fleet, a contract that’s expected to create over 750 manufacturing jobs including 400 directly at Alstom’s Hornell facility.  As part of the federal-local-state partnership that contributed resources to help Alstom emerge victorious in the global competition for the new contract, officials today highlighted the $30 million in state assistance that was provided by ESD, the state’s lead economic development agency. Cuomo estimated that, in addition to hundreds of new jobs, the Alstom-Amtrak contract will provide a $1-billion economic spinoff benefit for the entire Southern Tier region.

“Alstom won this contract, with the help from the state, with the help from the federal government, but Alstom wouldn’t have been in the position, to be in the bidding for this contract, without the great workforce here at Alstom, so thank you all,” said O’Mara.  "It’s about the strong workforce that we have, and we need to continue to build on that.”

At today’s event, O’Mara also stressed that the new Alstom contract complements an exciting new project that he’s pushing, together with Griffin and other local leaders, to establish a regional “Rail Car Manufacturing Center of Excellence” headquartered in Hornell. Recognizing and building on the history of rail in Hornell, OMara, Griffin, and other local leaders envision this new Center of Excellence, which has been given the green light by the Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council (REDC), as a place to keep training future workers in the cutting edge of rail car manufacturing, to offer education at the high school level for the next generation of workers, and where industry suppliers can come to learn and stay abreast of how they can best provide the goods and services the industry needs. 

Read more on today's event from AM 1480 WLEA in Hornell, "Governor Cuomo Visits Alstom in Hornell"

Watch a video replay of today's event at Alstom HERE.

Read and view more HERE.