Think Dutchess for Small Business
Thanks to our excellent infrastructure and resources, accessible transportation, affordable, business-friendly climate and top-notch workforce, Dutchess County is the ideal location to grow your small business.
Whether you’re the owner of a family business or a recent graduate with a new innovation, the Think Dutchess team provides business counseling, networking, incentives, site selection, and expedited permitting so that you can focus on doing what you do best.
Meet some of our successful small businesses:
See the art installation on the top of this page? That belongs to our very own 4th State Metals, which specializes in multi-disciplinary design, engineering, and fabrication. Facing higher costs and lack of space in Brooklyn, the firm has found room to grow in Dutchess County, as did their neighbors RUSHdesign, which relocated to Dutchess just months later. Read more about why they chose Dutchess in their company profile.
Founded by Dutchess County native and self-proclaimed “computer geek” Adam Albertelli in 2014, Bolt Mechanics is now a leader in mobile automotive mechanics. Seeking lower operating costs and faster business permitting time, the company moved from NYC to Poughkeepsie, and within a year had already expanded nearly doubling its footprint.
Beginning with a farm purchase by an adventurous couple in Dover Plains, Crown Maple has grown into an agri-business powerhouse of international acclaim. Crown Maple takes advantages of the amenities only Dutchess County can provide and has become a favorite brand for locals and premier chefs alike. Read more about Crown Maple’s success here.
Launched in Poughkeepsie in 1903, this family-owned business has chosen to manufacture jams, jellies, and fruit fillings in Dutchess County for over a century. Today, EFCO Products supplies to wholesalers, retailers and food processors worldwide, like Dunkin Donuts. Learn more about this Global business with Poughkeepsie roots in their company profile.
Dutchess County is the home of internationally renowned tea blender Harney & Sons, a family-owned-and-managed operation that started in 1983 from the basement of founder John Harney. Now headquartered in Millerton, these tea masters employ more than 200 people and sell their teas in Target stores worldwide.
Developed by one of Dutchess County’s longstanding entrepreneurs, Brud Hodgkins, Indoor Organic Gardens of Poughkeepsie transformed an old Dutchess County dime store into the future of New York State agtech. Today, the startup sustainably produces 12 to 16 pounds of microgreens weekly, which are sold to more than a dozen of the region’s top restaurants.
Founded in 1996 in NYC’s Gramercy Park, it didn’t take long for this agri-food leader to move upstate. Today, Irving Farm Coffee is distributed in trendy grocery stores like Whole Foods, and enjoys major roasting and retail operations in Dutchess County alongside their growing cafes, wholesale and educational programs.
Marshall & Sterling has been thriving in Dutchess County since it's founding in 1864. With corporate headquarters still located in Poughkeepsie, Marshall & Sterling now has offices around the United States and U.S. Virgin Islands. This community staple proudly provides business, personal and life insurance to the Hudson Valley and beyond, and has benefited greatly from doing business in Dutchess County for many years.
Resurrecting Poughkeepsie’s brewing heritage while taking advantage of local resources and a growing entrepreneurial energy, Mill House Brewing Company opened in 2013 as a restaurant and brewpub. The trendy company has already expanded, acquiring additional production space and distribution capabilities not far down the road from its staple restaurant.
Founded in 1945, Pawling Engineered Products started out small making compression seals for military ammunition cases, and has since grown into a global supplier of rubber and plastic architectural products. The company now supplies products as far as the Middle East, and in a variety of industries, including aerospace, defense, transportation, pharma, life sciences and energy.
A certified advanced manufacturing facility in Poughkeepsie, Schatz Bearing builds high-quality products for many industries, including aerospace, automation, robotics, medical, construction and agriculture. The company benefits from Dutchess County’s prime location, accessibility, and resources.