Pfisterer opens new Rochester facility promising new jobs for region

Posted by Admin November 13, 2024 Jobs

At a chilly press conference Tuesday morning, German energy infrastructure leader Pfisterer announced the launch of its first North American manufacturing facility in Gates, near Rochester.

The announcement marks the company’s first factory outside the European time zone.

“You have to be local if you want to be part of the community,” Pfisterer Executive Board member Dr. Konstantin Kurfiss said. “It’s our responsibility to create jobs here in the region.”

With more than 1,200 employees across 17 global locations, Pfisterer’s expansion into the Finger Lakes region includes plans to create up to 50 new local jobs.

“We looked around from south to north, west to east, and we decided on Rochester,” Kurfiss said.

Located on Innovation Way, this new facility will enhance Pfisterer’s production capacity, feature a customer training center, and provide dedicated spaces for production, sales, and cable assembly and testing.

“This is the right place to be,” County Executive Adam Bello said at the press conference.

Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce President Bob Duffy added that Pfisterer could have chosen any location but was thrilled they chose the Rochester region.

“You’re coming at a great time,” Duffy said. “The tech hub is here — there’s so much innovation going on.”

The company, founded in 1921 and headquartered in Winterbach near Stuttgart, Germany, is a global specialist in solutions for insulating and connecting electrical conductors.

Pfisterer’s technology supports power grid interfaces for generating, transmitting, and distributing electricity across land, sea, and air.

JW Cook, a regional representative for Gov. Kathy Hochul, said the facility would represent the future of energy manufacturing by assembling dropper cables for offshore wind farms, including the New York Empire Wind, a proposed project located between 15 and 30 miles off the southern coast of Long Beach and Jones Beach that is expected to generate 2,076 megawatts of clean, renewable energy.

“This project is not just about innovation,” Cook said. “It’s about jobs.”

Genae Shields is the business and development impact reporter. As a member of the local community, Genae enjoys learning about newly emerging businesses and changes that impact Rochester’s BIPOC and LGBTQ neighborhoods. She also enjoys supporting local artists and nonprofit organizations. Contact Genae at gshields@gannett.com.