County, city backing loan for new manufacturer on south side

PHOTOGRAPHER: Edward Munger Jr.

Montgomery County and the city of Amsterdam are joining forces to support development of a new manufacturing business on the south side of the city.

The Amsterdam Industrial Development Agency approved a $75,000 loan last week for DHA Holdings, a Schenectady-based holding company eyeing a $500,000 investment for machinery and equipment.

The business mixes ingredients for the process food industry that includes sports drinks and nutrition bars, among other products, according to Ken Rose, Montgomery County’s economic development director recently appointed administrative director of the Amsterdam Industrial Development Agency.

The loan money would pay for manufacturing equipment.

The loan would complement another $75,000 loan approved by the county IDA, of which Rose also is director.

Both agencies have worked together in the past, Rose said, but this effort represents the first time they will contribute revolving loan funds into a new business.

Both of the loans will carry a 3.25 percent interest rate over a five-year period.

The MCIDA loan will await final approval at the county Board of Supervisors meeting in October, Rose said.

If the project moves forward, the company is projecting the creation of 26 position over the course of three years, Rose said.

Those jobs include skilled and semi-skilled positions starting at $30,000, and sales and professional jobs reaching salaries of $60,000, Rose said.

The DHA holdings loan was one of two reviewed by AIDA this week.

The second, also focusing on the city’s South Side, would contribute $27,000 towards an expansion effort near the South Side Coffee Shop.

There, former Amsterdam Mayor Paul Parillo, who owns the eatery at 54-56 Bridge Street, tends to his other business, La Cucina Di Parillo.

La Cucina Di Parillo wholesales sauces and salad dressings and Parillo said the operation would take place in the same building next door to the South Side Coffee Shop.

The wholesale business is not expected to impact the South Side Coffee Shop, which serves breakfast, homemade soups and Italian bread and sausage, among other items.

“I’m proud of it, it’s a great location. The customers have been wonderful, it’s just a neighborhood-type of business that I hope remains here for a long time,” Parillo said.