Kodak (Photo : Reuters)
Owners of Kodak, the film manufacturer and photo giant that went bankrupt because of digital technology, know the meaning of the phrase reinventing one's self. Similar to Caitlyn Jenner who transitioned from Olympic medalist to Vogue cover girl, Kodak has also transformed at about the same period as the former Bruce Jenner.
Instead of disposing its assets, the 127-year-old firm became a landlord and rented its buildings and infrastructure to 58 companies at its five-square kilometer Kodak Park campus in New York. The area, now known as Eastman Business Park, is home to startups that benefit from the landlord's utilities, own rail system and technical and industrial capabilities, reports CTV News.
One tenant, LiDestri Food & Beverage, could tap Eastman's short-line railroad to move the tomatoes it processes into pasta sauces and Salsa. Another startup, Natcore Technology, could benefit from Kodak's film-coating capability for the solar cells it is developing. Future tenants include two medical marijuana firms seeking a New York license.
Electricity is assured tenants because of a 125-megawatt power plant that would not only light up the startups but also run the water purification plant, waste water treatment facility, fire department and chemical and testing facilities in the business park, said Michael Alt, retiring director of Eastman. He adds that by showing would-be tenants of the "tremendous value in being able to repurpose the assets that exist here," it reassures companies that Eastman has emerged from the negatives of Kodak whose 20-month Chapter 11 bankruptcy is about to end.
To help Kodak rise again, the state committed $100 million for the business park's reinvention and extended tax incentives and grants for tenants. The reinvention includes demolishing more than 40 buildings in the park, the latest of which was Building-53 blasted on Saturday, reports WROC. The building was a manufacturing facility for Kodak's negatives, now a relic from the pre-digital age.
Kodak still has 1,200 employees in the park, adding to the 6,000 people now working there. Eastman expects that after a few years, as more tenants come in, the number would rise between 10,000 and 11,000, about one-third of the 30,000 on Kodak's payroll at its apex. Some of Kodak's former workers were employed by Natcore.
The remaining Kodak workers are concentrating on motion picture and commercial film lines of the company. Despite the difficult times that the film giant and gone through, Eastman could still smile and say "Cheese" for its Kodak moment such as the blasting of Building-35 - using a digital or smartphone camera.
