There is something quite therapeutic about Cattaraugus County and its gem, Ellicottville. The small village is a tourism destination. It pulls interest from beer enthusiast and window shoppers alike. You can stop for a festival weekend to take in the beauty with the crowd or opt to see it for the quaint and charming place that it doubles as.
Tourism in general is a large priority for Cattaraugus County, and its Industrial Development Agency, headed by Corey Wiktor. About 16 percent of the region’s employees have a job tied to tourism. That includes the nearly 1,000 individuals employed by Holiday Valley, the third largest ski destination in New York State.
Between their ski resorts, Ellicottville destination, and Allegany State Park, the largest state park in New York State, Cattaraugus County sees over 2 million tourists in a year.
From an economic development perspective, the region is leveraging that positivity too. Wiktor estimates that they’ve helped with about a dozen projects right in Ellicottville in just the last few years, including adaptive reuse projects that can kick start an area. The CCIDA is also leveraging small business in Olean, partnering with the Olean Business Development Corporation for new incubator space so that new businesses don’t have to incur heavy or early costs in their process.
“We’re seeing smaller companies take big steps,” Wiktor said. “Our mission is to foster a better economic development climate for everyone.”
What we learned in Cattaraugus County
Over the past few weeks, we at InBN have pounded the pavement in preparation and celebration of Economic Development Week, May 8-13. We’ve reached out to each of our eight counties, visiting our IDA partners, and touring economic development projects of impact in the area. This is what we learned in Cattaraugus County:
Cattaraugus can manufacture
One of the larger employers in Cattaraugus County is Cutco, a knife manufacturer. Cutco is one of the few knife manufacturers left in the United States, and remains the largest in both the U.S. and Canada. At their headquarters in Olean, they employ over 600 people. They began manufacturing in Cattaraugus County in 1949 and have seen massive success along the way as they constantly continue to master their product.
Dresser Rand, a Siemen’s company, is a large global distributor of custom-made rotating equipment solutions. They are also located in Cattaraugus, Olean specifically, and employ nearly 1,000 people in that facility.
Large manufacturers like these are what keep Cattaraugus running. They employ a mass amount of people and yet are still constantly looking to hire more. The diversity of industry is a strength of Cattaraugus County, and to some it may come as a surprise.
It’s a lifestyle
“As a rural lifestyle seems to fade across the board, Cattaraugus County is one the rise,” Wiktor said.
Those that live in Cattaraugus could attest to that too. The people work hard and enjoy the beauty that they’re constantly surrounded by. To Wiktor, what separates Cattaraugus County from its Western New York counterparts are the accessible and natural beauties. The photos don’t lie, either.
Photos by Casi Hall
