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ACV Auctions raises $31 million to accelerate national expansion

Dan Miner — Tue, 06 Feb 2018 12:49:43 +0000

The Buffalo-based startup company, which offers a web-based platform for wholesale car auctions, is among the hottest technology companies to ever be founded out of Buffalo.

Google mobile-friendly update could impact your business

David Bertola — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 15:00:55 +0000

With an increasing number of Google searches being conducted on phones, the popular Web search engine changed its algorithms to take into account a website’s level of mobile-friendliness. In doing so, sites not optimized for small phone screens could get bumped down Google’s rankings. Earlier this week Google explained that for a site to be considered mobile-friendly, text should be easily viewed on the phone without needing to tap the screen or pinch at it to enlarge pages. Web experts say…

A century later, Charlie the Butcher represents a slice of Buffalo life

David Bertola — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 14:58:57 +0000

Wielding a giant metal whisk to prepare a vanilla sauce for a bread pudding, Charlie the Butcher looks more like Charlie the Baker. It’s just before noon on a Friday and Charlie Roesch, whom Western New Yorkers may know better as “Charlie the Butcher,” is decked in his trademark dress shirt and tie, white coat and hardhat. He’s doing what he loves most: preparing food. It’s what the two previous Charlie the Butchers — his father and grandfather — and his great grandfather before them…

NYC shoppers camp out to be first to buy Apple's new iPhone

David Bertola — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 14:31:03 +0000

In anticipation of Apple Inc.’s expected Sept. 9 launch of the new iPhone, Garret Cleversley has been fielding calls from curious customers about what it might look like or features it may include. But he’s just as much in the dark as they are. “Every day, customers call because they want to know what’s coming out and when we’ll have it,” said Cleversley, who co-owns Mac Solutions Plus in Eastern Hills Mall with his wife, Shawna. He said that there’s been talk of a new iPhone or a…

SunnKing: Countless old TVs causing strife in the recycling kingdom

David Bertola — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 19:00:31 +0000

Buffalo electronics recycler SunnKing, which will take in more than 10 million pounds of old TVs and computer monitors this year, is running out of room to store them and options to process them. Company officials say that unfortunately, until it becomes a major environmental issue, the nationwide problem where warehouses like that are packed with leaded glass that can be harmful to the environment will persist. Mountains of old TVs and computer monitors stretch from floor to ceiling at SunnKing’s…

Manufacturing program inspired by Olean grade school, Cutco Cutlery

David Bertola — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 15:29:00 +0000

When adding a new wrinkle to Cattaraugus County’s Dream It Do It program, which teaches middle and high school students about manufacturing skills, the coordinator will be looking to a 25-year-old grade school program sponsored by Cutco Cutlery. “This is an excellent program,” said Evelyn Sabina, Dream It Do It coordinator. She described it as a pipeline for STEM careers related to advanced manufacturing. While researching ways to integrate the program to younger students, she came upon the…

Study: Lack of skilled workers costing US manufacturers money

David Bertola — Thu, 15 May 2014 14:13:34 +0000

According to a study released May 14, U.S. manufacturers may be losing up to 11 percent of their annual earnings as a result of increased production costs stemming from a shortage of skilled workers. The study, conducted by Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and The Manufacturing Institute, surveyed 300 U.S. Manufacturing executives who described the shortage of qualified, skilled applicants as severe. Sixty percent said it has been difficult to hire the skilled people they need. In addition, more than 50 percent…

R2-D2: Living the good life in Dunkirk

David Bertola — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 15:40:03 +0000

To meet R2-D2, one doesn't need to travel to a galaxy far, far away. In fact, he's right here in the Milky Way, on Earth. One needs only to travel to Dunkirk, which is about halfway between Buffalo and Erie. There, at 756 Main St., is where “Artoo's” builder, handler and owner, Sean Moore lives and runs a small computer shop. "It was 1976, and I was with my mother, who took me to the theater to see ‘Star Wars’ for my birthday," he said. Moore turned seven that day. And ever since, he's…

Nightshift run by a team of machines

David Bertola — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 17:46:40 +0000

One day, Tony Staub built up enough courage to leave a machine running that was drilling and milling aluminum parts. He’d been operating it for years and thought that, unsupervised, it could perform at the same level as if he were still there. Staub opened Staub Machine Co. in 1975. The company machines parts for customers in a variety of industries. The most popular part is an oxygen concentrator for AirSep Corp. Staub recalls that initial moment, when he was running the machine that he had…

Federal owner learned on the job

David Bertola — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 15:12:34 +0000

When William Dowdall III began his career at his father’s company, Federal Meats, in 1959, he’d pack eggs, sweep floors and wash dishes. Along the way he learned about customer service, and how to cut meat and became a butcher. Today, he owns the company his grandfather started in Chicago in the 1920s. The company has 10 area locations, which Dowdall said remain competitive by selling fully prepared meals and focusing on service. In the 1920s it was known as National Market Co., and the company…