Surmet’s $14.5M Investment in North Buffalo Will Add Engineered Space, New Production Equipment, and New High Paying Jobs to Surmet’s Existing Buffalo Facility

Buffalo, New York– Surmet Corp. and Gilbane Building Company today joined local officials to celebrate the ribbon-cutting and grand opening of Surmet’s upgraded North Buffalo Facility.

This $14.5 M investment in Surmet’s facility at 699 Hertel Ave. includes facility renovation, the addition of specially engineered space, and installation of new transparent ceramics manufacturing equipment. The construction of the expansion project was managed by Gilbane Building Company.

“Surmet is pleased to build our presence in Buffalo with our expanded facility housing new production furnaces and custom-built ceramics processing equipment – the largest of its kind in the United States,” said Dr. Santosh K. Jha, Director of Operations, Surmet Corp.  “Thanks to funding support from the U.S. Air Force, this expansion has established our vertically integrated capability to manufacture transparent ceramic products and will create professional engineering and manufacturing job openings at this facility. We are grateful to our partners at Gilbane and all the vendors and the local agencies for their help and support in realizing this exciting project.”

“Gilbane is incredibly proud to have partnered with Surmet on expanding their Buffalo facility,” said John K.S. Cleary, senior project executive and head of Gilbane Building Company’s Buffalo office. “This cutting-edge facility is an outstanding example of the innovations in manufacturing taking place right here in Western New York. We are grateful to have contributed to Surmet’s growth in Buffalo.”

Surmet has built a broad intellectual property portfolio making it the world leader in transparent ceramics: ALON® Transparent Ceramic – Aluminum Oxynitride, aka Transparent Aluminum; and Magnesium Aluminate Spinel. Surmet is manufacturing and supplying products such as Transparent Armor, Reconnaissance and Sensor windows, Lenses and Domes, which are critical for U.S. Department of Defense systems as well as for many commercial applications.

About Surmet Corp.

Surmet Corp. was founded in 1982 with a commitment to provide cost effective advanced material solutions to its industrial customers with a focus on next generation machines, systems, and applications. Surmet has been a leader in commercializing and scaling up manufacturing of advanced material components, based on critical, innovative R&D carried out in our own state-of-the-art labs. Surmet operates facilities in three states: MA, NY, and CA, providing specialized capabilities in ceramics processing, precision polishing, advanced coatings, and surface treatments. Surmet has been in this Buffalo facility since 2002.

About Gilbane Building Company

Gilbane Building Company provides a full slate of construction and facilities-related services – from pre-construction planning and integrated consulting capabilities to comprehensive construction management, close-out and facility management services – for clients across various markets. A family business founded in 1870, Gilbane has active participation from the 4th, 5th and 6th generations of the Gilbane family.

Since 1949, Gilbane has delivered construction services in New York State for clients across multiple market sectors, including commercial office, multi-unit and high rise residential, cultural, education, healthcare, public sector, science and technology, and mission critical.

For more information, visit www.gilbaneco.com.