PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (WCAX) – More than 200 people from across North America gathered in Plattsburgh Tuesday for the NAmTrans summit.
The transportation workshop event focused on Nova Bus in years past but has a new focus this year– aviation.
North Country Chamber of Commerce President Garry Douglas says the summit is a time for businesses from across New York and Quebec to make partnerships and spur new development in the region.
And with the future exit of Nova Bus, Douglas says businesses in Plattsburgh will soon shift their manufacturing goals to supporting Beta Technologies.
“This represents a continental recognition of the Plattsburgh area as a real important strategic hub for the transportation, equipment, aerospace industries. We are all here and we are doing the things we are doing here to sustain that sector. It is not small time anymore, we have arrived big time with this event,” Douglas said.
Douglas says Plattsburgh only had one manufacturing equipment company following the closure of the Air Force base in the ‘90s. He says that number has now grown to 40, which has produced roughly 9,000 jobs.
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