Editor's Note: This is a press release from Square Deal Machining, Inc., of Marathon, N.Y.
Cortland, N..Y. — Officials from Cortland Transit and Square Deal Machining, Inc. joined local leaders Thursday at Yaman Park to announce details of an exciting collaboration that will boost revenue, public transportation and employment in Cortland County.
The Route 5 Cortland Transit bus route has been extended from the four corners in the Village of Marathon down to the SDMI headquarters on US Route 11. This extension will assist with SDMI’s expansion and need for employees. SDMI, which currently employs hundreds of people and is rapidly expanding, is offering new hires one month of free bus fare to and from the plant.
Officials also unveiled public transit buses newly wrapped with the company’s logo. SDMI, a Marathon-based business that employs hundreds of people, is the first company to wrap Cortland Transit vehicles.
“Here at Square Deal, our employees are the key to our company’s success and accomplishments. Living in a rural area, many of those employees rely on Cortland Transit to get to work each day,” Mr. Morgan said. “The Cortland Transit system has helped us recruit talented workers from all over the county, and we believe this partnership will allow more hardworking individuals to find quality professional opportunities at SDMI.”
“I’m glad to see that one of the products of this collaboration will help the residents of my district by expanding public transportation in in this rural part of Cortland County,” Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton said.
Cortland County owns the buses, and Seven Valleys Health Coalition (SVHC) contracts with the County to operate a Mobility Management (MM) program. SVHC worked with SDMI to design the bus advertising program, and SDMI paid Sellco Industries Inc. directly for the fabrication and installation of the two wraps. Per this collaboration, SVHC receives 60 percent of bus revenues and Cortland County gets the remaining 40 percent. The total charge for SDMI for two years of advertising is $6,950.
