The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday.
Robert Laughlin, president of TMP Technologies, inside the manufacturing plant. TMP was able to bring all of its warehousing under one roof, instead of using four outside storage facilities. (Derek Gee/Buffalo News)
Stacks of sheets of the finished "Magic Erasers" after they have gone through a proprietary process of preparation, forming and cutting in the new TMP Technologies manufacturing facility which produces the "Magic Eraser" cleaning sponge lines at the Renaissance Commerce Park on the former Bethlehem Steel site, Thursday, May 12, 2022.
A worker handles sheets of Magic Eraser foam. The foam is compressed and the Mr. Clean pattern is added. The sheets are cut into individual Magic Eraser pieces using one of three presses in the plant.
The iconic “Mr. Clean” character, wearing a Bills T-shirt, greets employees at the entrance to TMP Technologies in Lackawanna. TMP became the first tenant in Renaissance Commerce Park, which revived part of the former Bethlehem Steel site. (Derek Gee/Buffalo News)
Giant stacks of melamine foam that will be turned into Magic Eraser products. The foam arrives by container ship from a supplier in Germany at a port in New Jersey, and is then trucked to Lackawanna. (Derek Gee/Buffalo News)
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser has a shiny new home in Lackawanna.
But it almost didn't happen.
TMP Technologies makes the household scrubber pads for consumer products giant Proctor & Gamble. TMP faced pressure from P&G to move the Magic Eraser production closer to its own operations in Ohio.
A worker with a sheet of what will become Magic Eraser. Some of the pieces receive an injection. Some of the pieces receive an injection – Dawn, for pads designed for the kitchen, and Gain, for bathroom applications – before moving on to the packaging line. Some of the pads receive no injection. (Derek Gee/Buffalo News)
TMP knew it was time to shift the production out of a plant on Dingens Street on Buffalo into larger, modern space. Instead of taking that work – and jobs – out of New York state, TMP opted to become part of the revitalization of the former Bethlehem Steel property off Route 5.
Workers unload sheets of the finished "Magic Erasers" after they have gone through a proprietary process of preparation, forming and cutting in the new TMP Technologies manufacturing facility which produces the "Magic Eraser" cleaning sponge lines at the Renaissance Commerce Park on the former Bethlehem Steel site, Thursday, May 12, 2022.
The company bought 26 acres to build a $22.7 million, 280,000 square foot plant with more manufacturing space and room for expansion.
Robert Laughlin, TMP's president, said it was meaningful for the company to help revive the former Bethlehem site, as the new park's first tenant.
A worker unloads boxes of Magic Eraser products ready for shipment. TMP uses corrugated cardboard from a supplier in Michigan and product packaging from a Syracuse business. (Derek Gee/Buffalo News)
"For most of my adult life, this land has been vacant," he said. "To see it put to productive use is exciting." (TMP has two other facilities in the region, making other products.)
Local residents may not have been aware that Magic Eraser, a familiar household product, is made here. But the local facility supplies the U.S. and Canadian markets.
A worker unloads boxes of Magic Eraser products ready for shipment. TMP uses corrugated cardboard from a supplier in Michigan and product packaging from a Syracuse business. (Derek Gee/Buffalo News)
The plant employs 150 people. TMP declined to say how many Magic Erasers it makes per year, citing competitive reasons.
While TMP is busy making Magic Erasers, other activity is under way in Renaissance Commerce Park.
Samples of some of the products made at the plant on display at the entrance to the TMP Technologies facility. The new plant is two and a half times as large as the facility on Dingens Street in Buffalo where the company used to make Magic Erasers.
Uniland is building a $14.5 million warehouse next door, and has signed a purchase agreement to build a second warehouse on an adjacent parcel. And plans are taking shape to extend Renaissance Commerce Park 30 acres south of the Dona Street Extension, the street where TMP is located.
Packages of "Magic Eraser" products move on an assembly line through points on the packaging line inside the new TMP Technologies manufacturing facility which produces the "Magic Eraser" cleaning sponge lines at the Renaissance Commerce Park on the former Bethlehem Steel site, Thursday, May 12, 2022.
TMP's project received a $4.6 million incentive package through the Erie County Industrial Development Agency, and a $280,000 economic development grant from National Grid.
Laughlin said TMP's new plant signals to its customers that "we are committed to their needs, to their growth plans.
An automated robot moves from line to line restocking raw materials inside the new TMP Technologies manufacturing facility which produces the "Magic Eraser" cleaning sponge lines at the Renaissance Commerce Park on the former Bethlehem Steel site, Thursday, May 12, 2022.
"Basically, this expansion will secure our future in Buffalo for the foreseeable future," Laughlin said.
The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Buffalo Bills and Sabres co-owner Kim Pegula is "progressing well," according to a statement released by the teams.
A 60-year-old woman found dead early this month in her East Amherst home was fatally stabbed by her boyfriend following an argument, authorities said Monday.
Investigators are working to identify the body and notify family members, they said.
Luis Marrero, was fatally shot May 4 in an apartment on Donovan Drive in the Ferry-Grider Homes, Buffalo police said. He was 39. Police found Jalia Marrero's body 33 days later in a wooded area behind a commercial plaza on Delaware Avenue, south of Kenmore Avenue.
The Niagara Town Board voted in favor of a 27-page "negative declaration" that no potentially significant environmental impact would stem from the proposed $300 million project.
Two people were struck by gunfire Tuesday near Delaware Avenue and the westbound exit of the Route 198 Scajaquada Expressway, according to a spokesman for the Buffalo Police Department.
“The decision to not open our outdoor pools this summer came down to the safety and welfare of our residents," Mayor Byron Brown said in a statement.
The shooting happened shortly after 8:10 p.m. on the westbound expressway near the Delaware Avenue exit, police said in a news release.
Endorsed Democrat Melissa Hartman, the supervisor for the Town of Eden, handily won the Democratic primary race for Erie County clerk against five-year incumbent Michael "Mickey" Kearns. The two will face off again in the general election. While Hartman has now secured the Democratic Party line, Kearns still carries both the Republican and Conservative party lines.
The polls have closed. Follow here for throughout the night as primary elections results are reported.
Robert Laughlin, president of TMP Technologies, inside the manufacturing plant. TMP was able to bring all of its warehousing under one roof, instead of using four outside storage facilities. (Derek Gee/Buffalo News)
A worker with a sheet of what will become Magic Eraser. Some of the pieces receive an injection. Some of the pieces receive an injection – Dawn, for pads designed for the kitchen, and Gain, for bathroom applications – before moving on to the packaging line. Some of the pads receive no injection. (Derek Gee/Buffalo News)
Workers unload sheets of the finished "Magic Erasers" after they have gone through a proprietary process of preparation, forming and cutting in the new TMP Technologies manufacturing facility which produces the "Magic Eraser" cleaning sponge lines at the Renaissance Commerce Park on the former Bethlehem Steel site, Thursday, May 12, 2022.
A worker unloads boxes of Magic Eraser products ready for shipment. TMP uses corrugated cardboard from a supplier in Michigan and product packaging from a Syracuse business. (Derek Gee/Buffalo News)
A worker unloads boxes of Magic Eraser products ready for shipment. TMP uses corrugated cardboard from a supplier in Michigan and product packaging from a Syracuse business. (Derek Gee/Buffalo News)
Samples of some of the products made at the plant on display at the entrance to the TMP Technologies facility. The new plant is two and a half times as large as the facility on Dingens Street in Buffalo where the company used to make Magic Erasers.
Packages of "Magic Eraser" products move on an assembly line through points on the packaging line inside the new TMP Technologies manufacturing facility which produces the "Magic Eraser" cleaning sponge lines at the Renaissance Commerce Park on the former Bethlehem Steel site, Thursday, May 12, 2022.
An automated robot moves from line to line restocking raw materials inside the new TMP Technologies manufacturing facility which produces the "Magic Eraser" cleaning sponge lines at the Renaissance Commerce Park on the former Bethlehem Steel site, Thursday, May 12, 2022.
Stacks of sheets of the finished "Magic Erasers" after they have gone through a proprietary process of preparation, forming and cutting in the new TMP Technologies manufacturing facility which produces the "Magic Eraser" cleaning sponge lines at the Renaissance Commerce Park on the former Bethlehem Steel site, Thursday, May 12, 2022.
A worker handles sheets of Magic Eraser foam. The foam is compressed and the Mr. Clean pattern is added. The sheets are cut into individual Magic Eraser pieces using one of three presses in the plant.
The iconic “Mr. Clean” character, wearing a Bills T-shirt, greets employees at the entrance to TMP Technologies in Lackawanna. TMP became the first tenant in Renaissance Commerce Park, which revived part of the former Bethlehem Steel site. (Derek Gee/Buffalo News)
Giant stacks of melamine foam that will be turned into Magic Eraser products. The foam arrives by container ship from a supplier in Germany at a port in New Jersey, and is then trucked to Lackawanna. (Derek Gee/Buffalo News)
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.