WESTFIELD – A new business in the village has ambitions of bringing about 50 new jobs to the region.

County Executive Vince Horrigan and local and state officials recently welcome Coronado Stone Products representatives to their new Chautauqua County manufacturing location. Coronado Stone recently acquired the business assets of Crown Hill Stone Inc., located at 59 Franklin St. and 28 E. Pearl St., Westfield.

Horrigan congratulated company founder and owner, Mel Bacon, on the new location and thanked him for his commitment to Chautauqua County.

“We are thrilled that Coronado Stone has selected Westfield for their new Northeastern US manufacturing location, preserving local jobs here with plans for expansion,” Horrigan said. “Mr. and Mrs. Bacon are committed to helping our community as well as helping grow our economy.”

Conversion of the newly acquired Westfield property is under way. Coronado will produce its full line of stone veneer and thin brick products. The plant will support the company’s expansion of sales into the northeastern and mid-Atlantic United States and eastern Canada. Coronado Stone’s geographic manufacturing footprint has been in South Carolina, Texas, northern California and southern California.

According to company officials, sales continue to grow as they expand market share across the United States and Canada. The new facility will mean lower landed costs, shorter lead times, and better overall freight logistics to customers.

The county Industrial Development Agency has been the lead on the project, coordinating state and local assistance in developing an incentive package.

“We worked aggressively to identify incentives which would convince Coronado to choose Chautauqua County, N.Y., over competing states for their new northeast location,” said Kevin Sanvidge, IDA administrative director/CEO, “Each situation is unique so packages are customized based on company needs. In this case state programs, including New York state’s Excelsior Jobs Program, coupled with training grants offered through Chautauqua Works, had the biggest impact.

The Westfield Development Corp. also played a role. Serving as an initial point of contact at the local level in facilitating introductions to local resources, they also assisted with the gathering of property assessment, zoning, permitting, real estate, utility and community information.

For over 10 years Coronado has incorporated a second-chance philosophy into its hiring practices. Not all employees are second-chance employees, however in addition to its regular employment base, they offer parolees a second chance by providing employment and job training where other employers may not. The company partners closely with local parole and probation departments to offer entry level positions with the opportunity to move up in wages and responsibility, based on skills, work ethic, attendance and commitment. The results have been unexpected, company officials said. Employee turnover remains about normal and sales have grown.

“It is rewarding,” Bacon said. “You wind up with some good people and you have some bad ones, but most do not want to go back to jail. They want jobs. This is something God chose me to do.”

Hiring is expected to begin in October with a focus on specialized skills first, including welding and electrical, and then general labor. Shipment of products is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year. Company representatives project employment to grow from three to 50 employees by 2016.