“Ljungström: Proud past, bright future” reads a sign hanging in the company’s Wellsville manufacturing facility.
Ljungström, formerly known as Air Preheater, is living up to that motto as it charts a new course in renewable energy. Once a giant in the coal industry, the company has diversified its portfolio and has now won multiple contracts to manufacture components for offshore wind farms.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) visited the facility Wednesday to assess its progress after the company received a federal workforce training grant in 2021 to support its burgeoning operation.
Ljungström has already hired around 100 new employees since entering the offshore wind supply chain. The company plans to hire another 100 employees over the next seven months.
“In a county like Allegany, that’s a big deal. That’s a big, big deal,” said Schumer. “For the first time in a long time, the Southern Tier has the wind at its back in terms of good paying manufacturing jobs. It’s because of the investments we made that are boosting clean energy and infrastructure projects.”
The next wave of new hires will increase the Wellsville workforce to around 350, according to Matt Ferris, managing director of Ljungström’s Wellsville Division. That will more than double the company’s local footprint compared to just a few years ago; the employee count had dipped to around 150 before adding work in the wind industry.
“This company had a lot of foresight,” said Schumer. “They knew that (coal) was declining. So instead of just picking up and leaving or saying, ‘We’re going to reduce our business,’ they came up with a great plan. Now they are making components for our wind turbines, which is one of the most booming, future oriented industries in the whole United States.”
Ljungström’s success resurrects Main Street facility
The momentum at Ljungström comes as the company celebrated its 100th year in Wellsville earlier this summer. The hiring surge…
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