In June of 1958, the steam whistle blew for the last time at the Massey-Harris-Ferguson plant in Batavia, N.Y., leaving behind a massive complex of multistory buildings and causing local unemployment to skyrocket (to around 18 percent). The Mancuso family, which owned a number of businesses in the area, bought the complex. Unable to find a single tenant for the plant, Joe Mancuso divided the building into individual spaces and started to take in any size business and do everything possible to help them grow, hire more people, and rent more space.

 

This was the birth of the concept of the business "incubator", describing a building where small businesses were "hatched" and nurtured until they were strong enough to become independent. These mature enterprises or "graduates" would then invest in buying or building new plants when they moved out of the "nest" into the community. In 1959, the Batavia Industrial Center (BIC) and the business incubation industry was born.

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Today, The Harvester Center strives to embrace our community by enabling local talent and industry to flourish, realizing their dreams at their own pace. Over 3,000 businesses have resided within the walls of this industrial complex with new tenants occupying spaces monthly. There are currently 65+ tenants and a variety of spaces available for rent. 

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