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1 of 2 DOCUMENTS Copyright 2004 Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Copyright 2004 Buffalo News Buffalo News March 15, 2004, Monday KR-ACC-NO: BF-CHINA-PLANT LENGTH: 853 words HEADLINE: Oneida Ltd. Completes Sale of Buffalo, N.Y., Dinnerplate Factory BYLINE: By Fred O. Williams BODY: The Buffalo China plant on Bailey Avenue, a source of jobs since 1901, will reopen Monday as a new company, Niagara Ceramics Corp. Owner Oneida Ltd. completed the sale of the dinnerplate factory to a management-led group for $ 5.5 million on Friday, officials of the new company announced. The new company will operate as a supplier to Oneida, with fewer workers and lower wages, officials said. Niagara Ceramics stands to receive $ 2.1 million in taxpayer-backed grants and loans for preserving the plant, which was targeted for closing by Oneida. "It was a group effort to save the jobs," said Christopher Collins, treasurer of Niagara Ceramics. Without the cooperation of state and local development agencies, "all the jobs would've been gone." The supplier will have 210 employees, 190 of them production workers, Collins said. Buffalo China had 325 workers on Friday, its last day, he said. Niagara Ceramics has a five-year supply contract with Oneida, in return for which the supplier agrees not to compete with its former parent in the commercial tableware market, Collins said. Robert L. Lupica, previously Oneida's general manager of Buffalo operations, is president of the new company. "By investing right now, this company has guaranteed that this facility will not lay dormant, but will bustle with energy and activity right away," Gov. George Pataki said in a statement. Oneida is in the process of selling other plants in Mexico, China and Italy. The proposed public incentive package for Niagara Ceramics includes: -- A $ 500,000 capital grant from New York state to offset costs for machinery and acquisition of the property. -- Loans of $ 750,000 from the Erie County Industrial Development Agency and $ 350,000 from the City of Buffalo's development arm. -- 1.1 megawatts of hydropower from the state Power Authority, an increase of 29 percent over Buffalo China's allocation.

Page 2 Oneida Ltd. Completes Sale of Buffalo, N.Y., Dinnerplate Factory Buffalo News March 15, 2004, Monday

-- Training grants of $ 380,000 from Erie County and $ 100,000 from the regional Workforce Investment Board, which distributes federal training funds. In addition to supplying plates to Oneida, Niagara Ceramics plans to sell dinnerware for the retail market under the Buffalo Pottery brand and historical reproductions under the Deldare brand, which was used in the early days of Buffalo China. Oneida Ltd. retains the rights to the Buffalo China name, a mainstay in the market for commercial dinner plates used in restaurants and hotels. Collins is an investor in several Buffalo-area businesses and ran unsuccessfully for Congress against incumbent John LaFalce in 1998. He and the management group provided private capital of $ 1.2 million to launch the new company, he said. Greater Buffalo Savings Bank helped finance the deal with a term loan secured by machinery and equipment, and private lender A&L Holdings took a mortgage on the building, Collins said. Niagara Ceramics will not recognize the Glass, Molders, Potter, Plastics & Allied Workers union that represented production workers at Buffalo China, Collins said. One third of Niagara Ceramics' work force will be made up of union members, below the 50 percent threshold necessary for union recognition, he said. But union officials said they haven't given up on the plant. If the work force is below the 50 percent mark, the glassworkers may mount an organizing campaign. "It's our belief we will continue to represent the people who work there," union spokesman Rich Klein said. The union negotiated severance payments from Oneida based on workers' length of service, worth up to 10 weeks of pay. Some workers were leaving the plant for the last time Friday, while others expected to return under the new employer. Sherry Draves of Buffalo said that her five-year career at Buffalo China was over. She didn't apply for a job at the successor company because it would mean accepting wages of about $ 10 an hour, $ 2.50 less than she makes now, and reduced benefits. John Kapuszcak of Hamburg, with close to 10 years at Buffalo China, applied for a job at the new company, and is waiting to hear if he'll be hired. "There's not many jobs that are gonna beat that $ 10 an hour," he said. Having been laid off by Bethlehem Steel 20 years ago, he said he's used to the ups and downs of industrial employment. Carrie Callahan of Holland said she planned to return to school and train to be a teacher. After 10 years at Buffalo China and two surgeries on her arm for repetitive motion injuries, "It's time for me to move on," she said. David Jackson of Amherst said he is scheduled to attend an orientation for the new employer this morning, and start work at Niagara Ceramics on Monday. A longtime member of the glassworkers union, he said he was upset by the ouster of the union, "but there's really nothing you can do." During a layoff in June he tested the job market. "There was nothing out there that paid decent," he said. ----To see more of The Buffalo News, N.Y., or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.buffalonews.com. JOURNAL-CODE: BF LOAD-DATE: March 16, 2004