NORWICH – Despite the down economy, a number of Chenango companies have still managed to grow their businesses and create jobs over the last few years. Area business leaders had the opportunity to hear four of these success stories Wednesday as part of Commerce Chenango’s “Good Morning, Chenango!” breakfast series.
The breakfast, which took place at Fred’s Inn Restaurant in Norwich, was sponsored by Sidney Federal Credit Union.
Jim Doig of SFCU was one of the event’s featured speakers. He was joined by Chris Hayes of Hayes Office Products, Jim Henderson of Golden Artist Colors and Keven Bucklin of Agro Farma.
Each was introduced in turn by Commerce Chenango President Maureen Carpenter, who applauded all four companies for the “amazing progress” they’ve made and the jobs created.

Hayes Office Products
Chris Hayes, who owns Hayes Office Products with wife Missy, was the first to address the business leaders in attendance.
“We’re the small guy,” said Hayes, explaining the business model for the family-owned office products company which serves commercial and retail customers in the greater Norwich area.
According to the small business owner, the company employs six full-time employees – including himself and his wife – and five part-time staff members. Last year, they recorded $1.8 million in sales. Business-to-business customers comprise roughly 75 percent of the business, he explained, with the remainder generated by retail sales at their 6 E. Main St. location.
Hayes described the challenges of his industry and how the company uses technology and service to compete against big box retailers and online rivals.
“We’re small, and with that size comes flexibility,” he said, explaining that this helped them avoid layoffs during the downturn.
The business has also been affected by global trends.
“We have fewer (commercial) customers to sell to today than we did five years ago,” he explained, adding that the business base continues to erode.
Their approach is a conservative one, according to Hayes. Since he and his wife purchased the business from his parents in 1998, they have “stayed true” to the business ideals on which the company was founded. They feel strongly about giving back to the community, he said, and view their staff, vendors, customers and local professionals as a “team.”

Sidney Federal Credit Union
SFCU was founded in 1949 as a credit union for Bendix employees. It grew gradually over the years, expanding both its territory and its scope. Today the financial institution has eight locations in three counties, 160 employees and $300 million in assets, according to President and CEO Jim Doig.
In recent years, the company has been on a “building spree,” Doig explained. That spree has resulted in new branch locations in Oneonta, Walton and Hancock as well as a new corporate headquarters in Sidney.
According to Doig, the company had outgrown its existing Sidney location.
“We actually had people working out of closets,” he joked, indicating a model of the old structure. He then gestured to the new building which, at 28,000 square feet, is twice the size.
“This was done primarily as a green building,” he reported, referring not to the exterior pain color but rather the way the structure was built with energy efficiency and the environment in mind.
According to Doig, two years were spent getting the concept on paper before they even broke ground on the project. The finished product includes a number of “green” features such as a geothermal heating, ventilation and air conditioning system; the corrugated steel panels used in the construction of the exterior walls; special blue-tinted glass; sky lights; a six-foot roof overhang; and water reclamation system. The building’s interior lighting fixtures use special ballasts which use a fraction of the electricity of traditional fluorescent lights, he explained. And soon, the building will generate some of its own power through solar panels, due to be installed on the south-facing side of the structure this spring.

Golden Artist Colors
Jim Henderson says he sees parallels between Golden Artist Colors and his former employer, Benjamin Moore. Henderson, who joined Golden Artist in 2009 as corporate controller, spent 33 years at the paint manufacturer and saw its transformation from a private entity into a billion dollar business after it was acquired by Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway holding company.
“I may not be here in 30 years to see it become a billion dollar company, but it has all the elements,” Henderson said of Golden Artist.
The controller recalled meeting Buffet after his acquisition of Benjamin Moore and asking the billionaire what he looks for in a company. Buffet listed three things, he said: a brand, a business he understands and an excellent management team. According to Henderson, Golden Artist has all three.
“I’m really excited to be a part of this team and take the company forward,” he said.
Henderson traced the company’s roots, from the barn in which Sam and Adele Golden started the business in 1980 to the 100,000 square foot structure it occupies today. Last year, the company’s 150 employees produced 630,000 gallons of acrylic paint, over two million pieces. All of it while staying true to Golden’s legacy, and the company’s customer-centered vision.
He called the Golden name a “lovemark” rather than a trade mark because of the passion artists have for the product.
Over the last ten years, they’ve started to expand their reach into international markets.
“We’re starting to cover the globe,” he said. The current focus is on Europe, where they recently opened a warehouse in the Netherlands.
“Golden Artist truly is one of the jewels which can be mined in Chenango County,” he said.

Agro Farma
When Chobani Greek-style yogurt was launched in 2007, Agro Farma’s five employees were churning out 6,000 cases of the all-natural, protein rich product a week. Now they have over 500 employees and Chobani is the number one brand of Greek yogurt in the country, with 50 percent of the market in that category. They’ve also risen to the number one brand of yogurt in the Northeast, and second nationwide.
Over the last two years, they’ve grown by an average of 243 percent per year and sales approach $500 million, according to VP of Operations Keven Bucklin.
To keep up with demand, the company has invested $100 million in its facilities in the Town of Columbus and Norwich. It has increased the number of production lines from 2 to 12. Every 30 seconds, 240 cases crosses the “bridge” which connects the production facility with the newly constructed 160,000 square foot warehouse across the street. Last week alone, the company produced 1.1 million cases. They are currently receiving 2 million pounds of milk a day. Bucklin predicts that number will rise to 4 million by the end of the year.
The company donates 10 percent of its profits to charitable organizations, and is an active sponsor of events, not only in Chenango County, but across the country.