BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Buffalo-based company, which makes battery storage units, is seeking to expand through a federal loan program which it says could help it hire five times as many employees as it has now.
Inside the former American Axle plant at 1010 East Delavan Ave workers at Viridi Parente assemble modules of lithium batteries, which are stacked together to create battery storage units.
The units, depending on their size, can power everything from smaller construction equipment such as skid steers to large-scale portable generators with a variety of applications on construction sites, and at festivals or events.
A unit displayed during a visit by U.S. Senate majority leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) on Monday sells for $140,000 which is twice as much as a comparable diesel generator, according to company CEO Jon Williams.
However, Williams claimed, "A diesel generator costs you $37 per hour to operate. This costs about 12 cents," while also noting the generator operates without noise or emissions like its diesel counterpart would.
The generator can operate for 36 hours at full capacity before it has to be plugged into the grid (or if need be, hooked to a diesel generator) to be recharged.
Viridi Parente currently has about 100 employees at the plant, most of whom have been working for less than a year, according to Jeffery Conrad, President of the Green Force, which the company partnered with in order to assemble its workforce.
Viridi Parente is currently applying for a $202 million low-interest loan through the US Department of Energy as part of a plan to increase its workforce to 500 employees in 2026.
"The loan is really directed at capital upgrades including building improvements and equipment installs," explained Williams. "So the loan would go into automation and equipment and expansion...and as we automate and expand, employment builds around it."
According to Conrad, entry-level assembly jobs currently pay $18/hr. plus benefits such as health insurance, a 401k program, and stock options.
"We provide you the specific training to actually come in and do this job from day one," said Conrad. "These are entry-level jobs but the skills you can walk away with are transformational so if you wanted to grow to a bigger company somewhere else or within this company, as a lead supervisor or shift supervisor you can learn that too."