Bed frame manufacturer renovates facility in Dryden

A Northeast company is soon coming to the town of Dryden, bringing with it revenue and job opportunities.

Knickerbocker Advanced Bed Support Systems, a company based in Carlstadt, New Jersey, recently bought a 220,000-square-foot facility on 17 Hall Woods Rd. in Dryden and is looking to renovate it into one of its manufacturing facilities. Knickerbocker closed on the property Nov. 19.

Knickerbocker is a company that specializes in manufacturing “stylish and attractive” heavy-duty bed frames and bedding support systems. According to Richard Polevoy, the company’s CEO for the past 25 years, the company is the only major bed frame manufacturer “100% made in America.”

Knickerbocker is working with HUNT Engineers, Architects and Surveyors of Horseheads on the renovation and development of the facility. LeChase Construction Services, LLC is handling the general contracting, Polevoy said. The Dryden Town Board approved a special use permit for Knickerbocker at its Nov. 18 meeting.

Construction in the facility could start before the end of the year, Polevoy said. He added that Knickerbocker is looking to wrap up the project between late spring and early summer of next year.

Renovations of the facility include the installation of a state-of-the-art heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system and lighting.

Dan Lamb, town of Dryden deputy supervisor, said the facility is “fitting for light industrial work,” and Knickerbocker fits.

“The basic structure is there,” Polevoy said. “We just need to make improvements to the inside of the facility.”

Vanguard Graphics, LLC previously owned the facility from 2006 to 2018. The facility has been unoccupied since September 2018, after Vanguard announced a few months prior that year it would be closing its facility and laying off its staff.

Polevoy is a third-generation CEO of the company. His grandfather, Louis, first opened the company’s doors in 1919.

Polevoy is familiar with the Dryden area. He is a Class of 1975 graduate of Cornell University. His three sons also graduated from the university and are actively “managing business for the company,” Polevoy said.

Knickerbocker’s new and impending manufacturing facility in Dryden will be the company’s third factory, with the other two located in New Jersey.

Polevoy said he and the company had their sights set on developing a facility in Dryden due to the “strong work ethic in the area.”

Knickerbocker is looking to hire employees from around Dryden. Polevoy added the company has already hired “a number of people from the management side,” with management handling the hiring process starting at the beginning of 2022 for the rest of the employees for “every level” at the facility.

Lamb said Knickerbocker could potentially bring over 60 jobs to the town. Polevoy added the goal is to hire 80 potential employees “in the next three years.”

“We felt the area provided the right combination of management, talent and potential employees that we can build a business from scratch up there,” he said. “We want the best quality team to assemble and make world-class products.”

One other major factor in Knickerbocker’s decision to come to Dryden is the company’s soon-to-be launch of a “series of products for the hospitality industry,” Polevoy said. It coincides with the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, which made Knickerbocker’s arrival to Dryden a “natural attraction,” Polevoy added.

“All of the design is completed to dramatically reinvent products geared to the hotel industry,” Polevoy said.

In terms of the renovations to the facility, Lamb said it will “increase the taxable value of the property.”

“This means new tax revenue coming to town is less of a burden for taxpayers,” he added. “We don’t like seeing vacant, big structures in town. It doesn’t send a good message.”

Polevoy declined to comment on how much Knickerbocker bought the facility for but noted a “substantial amount of money will be put into the renovations.”

Lamb mentioned “several million dollars investment and over 100 new jobs” will soon come into the town of Dryden between Knickerbocker and Incodema. Incodema, which moved to Slaterville Road in Dryden from its previous Ithaca location in December 2020, is a local industrial firm that specializes in making custom sheet-metal prototypes and miniature components for industrial machines and more.

“This has been a good year for Dryden,” Lamb said.

Part of the Dryden Rail Trail runs adjacent to Knickerbocker’s newly purchased property, which is located on the eastern side of Route 13. With an owner now in place for a facility, the Town of Dryden and Knickerbocker are currently under a pending agreement for the town to acquire a portion of the trail through an easement.

Bob Beck, chair of the Dryden Rail Trail Task Force, said if the agreement goes through, the town could acquire seven-tenths of an acre from Knickerbocker.

“It’s a positive development,” Beck said.

Polevoy supports the town’s effort with the Rail Trail, noting it’s a “terrific attraction for anyone.”

“We want to be good neighbors, so we’ll support Dryden in whatever we feel is appropriate,” he added.

Dryden Dispatch appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.