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EkoStinger Inc. aims to triple the size of its East Rochester staff
Technical breakthroughs and millions of dollars in capital investments have a local company looking to triple its staff over the next few years.
EkoStinger Inc., which makes aerodynamic equipment for the commercial trucking industry, has received more than $3 million from Cayuga Venture Fund, as well as up to $450,000 in grants, credits and incentives through4 Empire State Development Corp.'s Excelsior Jobs Program.
The funding has helped the East Rochester firm develop a technology that allows its product to be molded, reducing the number of parts from 87 to 18 and its manufacturing cost by nearly 30 percent. As a result, company CEO Parr Wiegel expects staff to grow from around 20 to 60 or more over the next several years.
"I think overall, my gut is, we're going to have different products and different lines and different needs, and I think we're going to be way over that number," Wiegel said of staffing.
Revenues could mirror that.
"Our goal this year is about $3 million," Wiegel said. "I know we've outsold last year already this year."
EkoStinger's product is a two-part trailer shield and arrow-shaped device that attaches to the underside of a trailer, providing better aerodynamics and increased fuel efficiency. The second piece to that is a shield that also is installed on the underside of a trailer. The company's first iteration...