Yates County Industrial Development Agency Announces Branding Change to Finger Lakes Economic Development Center

The Yates County Industrial Development Agency will now do business as the Finger Lakes Economic Development Center (FLEDC). The YCIDA's Board of Directors formally approved the switch at their March board meeting.

"The brand change symbolizes the expanding range of economic development initiatives and programs we offer to a broader range of businesses” said Steve Griffin, CEO of the Finger Lakes Economic Development Center. Griffin further said there were a couple major factors behind the brand identity switch. “Industrial Development Agencies tend to invoke images of smoke stacks and large businesses and the fact is we are assisting a larger percentage of smaller and non-industrial companies. The strength of Yates County’s economy, driven by three major business segments including agriculture, tourism and manufacturing, is based on the diversity of our businesses and our ability as an economic development organization to help them grow. We feel the new name gives a more realistic view of the diverse businesses we work with."

"Additionally, there is a very small population base that can place Yates County on a map. At the same time there is a significant amount of marketing dollars going into advertising the Finger Lakes region. It only makes sense being in the heart of the Finger Lakes for us to capitalize on our location and help companies quickly identify where Yates County is."

Along with the name change, the FLEDC launched a new website. Griffin stated he is really pleased with the new site. "More and more company site searches are starting with a community's web site. If they can not find the information they are looking for, they will not give you another look. With that in mind, we have a lot of very pertinent information on the site that does an excellent job of giving a prospective company a total view of our community that goes beyond typical census information." said Griffin.