A well-known name in the electronics industry is coming to downtown Rochester. Panasonic, which earlier this year acquired a division belonging to a local high-tech company called Omni-ID, will be taking up some space in the first Federal Building.
Panasonic will have operations on the 1st and 21st floor of that building. The unit, Omni-ID's 'Industrial Internet of Things Solutions Group' previously was located at Eastman Business Park.
Company vice president George Daddis says this business is involved in the hardware and software that helps large companies track their inventory.
“We build solutions for large manufacturing companies like Chrysler, or Lear, or Johnson Controls that allow them to track the materials that they move through their factories; we build hardware tags that allow them to figure out where they are in real time, sense their location and software to control the flow and work with that hardware directly,” Daddis explained.
And he says Panasonic employs 35 people now and he hopes that can grow in their new space at First Federal.
“It fits our size perfectly right now but it’s got plenty of room to grow and grow we will. We’re already growing in the last 7 to 9 months about 10 or 12 people and we aggressively looking to hire even more as we continue to 2020,” Daddis said.
Mayor Lovely Warren says this provides another good boost for the downtown area.
"We’re excited about Panasonic a household name coming to Rochester. To have this development and this company locate in our center city shows we are definitely on our way back," Warren said.
Matt Hurlbutt, the president and CEO of Greater Rochester Enterprise, says this is another sign about the ongoing interest by high tech companies who want to locate here.
“It speaks to what we’ve been saying where Rochester is the home to smart people and smart companies; we have an opportunity to support their growth here with our outstanding colleges and universities and just that ecosystem with software, information technology, engineering and the support that you need to grow in this community,” Hurlbutt said.
Daddis says that Panasonic will not be looking for tax or other government incentives for this recent move. The company says as it grows, it will look at various options and opportunities.
