The appearance of downtown Buffalo has changed considerably since the 1920's.
86 years ago, if you were to stroll through what is now known as the Cobblestone District of Buffalo, you would have seen numerous signs of the roaring twenties. The harbor would be swarmed with traffic coming from the Great Lakes, while the surrounding businesses would be heavily patronized by sailors and other people associated with the thriving shipping industry. Because of this, there were about 22 boiler and pressure vessel companies in the lower Main Street area, which was known as "Boilermaker's Row." In 2008, only one of those remains: Nicholson & Hall Corporation.
Founders Lance Nicholson and Thomas Hall were originally from Sheffield, England, and came to the Buffalo area via the Erie Canal Barge. Nicholson passed ownership down to his son, Howard, who eventually sold the company to Louis D. Madia in 1968.
Under Madia, the company changed direction because of the completion of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959. According to Michael Madia, son of Louis Madia and current President and CEO of Nicholson & Hall, it was his father's foresight to move away from the shipping industry that was once mainstay of the company's survival in Buffalo.
Madia said that before the St. Lawrence Seaway was built, all overseas ships had to stop at Buffalo and unload their goods so they could be transported through the U.S. Afterward, the vessels could bypass the city completely, which “…killed an industry in Buffalo,” in Madia's opinion. In answer to this lull, Nicholson & Hall broke into the electric utilities market.
These days, all the work Nicholson & Hall does is energy related. One of the products the company often installs is heat recovery steam generators (HRSG). These efficient boilers are used to retrieve energy from the gas that power generation produces. Nicholson & Hall took on the Greenfield Energy project in Sarnia, Ontario in which they installed HRSG boilers for Mitsui, a Japanese conglomerate.
Another service Nicholson & Hall provides for companies is the installation of anti-pollution equipment to make their operations more efficient and less detrimental to the environment. An example of this was the Clean Coal Demonstration Project they completed for New York State Electric and Gas Corporation (NYSEG) about five years ago. The equipment they installed allowed for the coal to burn cleaner, thus reducing pollution from the emissions. The $50 million project was sponsored by the Department of Energy.
A mercury reduction project in Summerside, Massachusetts is the most recent project the company is finishing up. This $70 million project is the first of its kind in the U.S., and aims to reduce the mercury that results from the combustion process.
Executive Vice President John Housel, manages and controls the projects Nicholson & Hall takes on. Their endeavors last year alone were worth $120 million, and business is thriving. While the focus of Nicholson & Hall has changed from shipping to industrial to electrical utility over the years, the Buffalo location of the company has not.
Nicholson & Hall has been at 41 Columbia Street since 1922. Both the building and the surrounding area are going through their first renovations in quite some time. “Our building hasn't been remodeled in 86 years,” Madia said, noting that the current renovation will cost $1.5 million (top lead photo taken yesterday 3-28-08... second lead photo taken one year ago). As far as the rest of the Cobblestone District's facelift goes, Madia is pleased, “We view any improvement to that area as good,” he said. “We've been there for 86 years and this is the first attempt made to revitalize it.” (see smoke-blowing buffalo)
While most of the work Nicholson & Hall takes on exists outside of Buffalo, they have been involved in some local projects. The company performed a boiler overhaul life-extension project for Niagara Mohawk, which was eventually bought by NRG Energy.
Local projects are few and far between, however, because there isn't enough need for this type of work in Buffalo in order to sustain the company. When asked why Nicholson & Hall has stayed in Buffalo even though most of their business exists outside the city, Madia answered, “Because most of the people who work for us enjoy the Buffalo area...and we'd rather work out of town and call Buffalo home.”
Nicholson & Hall's ability to adapt to the area's changing needs, with an emphasis toward greener energy options, should carry them well through this century also.
Nicholson & Hall Corporation 41 Columbia Street 14203 Buffalo NY