Who We Are

The Seaway Private Equity Corporation (SPEC) makes early stage equity investments in companies that demonstrate significant growth potential who choose St. Lawrence County, New York (USA) for their principal business location. Through such early stage investment, SPEC intends to help bring employment and economic opportunities to the North Country.

Investment Focus

SPEC focuses its investments on the commercialization of new products and services in the areas of renewable energy and environmental technologies. By investing in the power of our future, our hope is to bring quality jobs to the North Country and spur critical developments to improve the global environment.

To determine which projects qualify for SPEC investment, please visit our Investment Process page.

Business Development Firms

We realize that developing or commercializing new technologies can be a daunting task. To better position early stage companies for success, SPEC contracts with Qualified Business Development Firms.

As your partner, a SPEC Qualified Business Development Firm owns a minority interest in your company and works with you to define your company’s business strategy and exercises oversight and/or control of certain business operations.

Board & Operations

SPEC is a private, not-for-profit corporation operating in St. Lawrence County to oversee the disbursement of up to $10-million made available through the New York Power Authority. The purpose of SPEC is to create quality job opportunities by attracting the development of new technology companies - especially those focused on renewable energy and environmental technologies.

The membership on SPEC's Board of Directors includes:

SPEC Role	Member Name	Professional Affiliation
President	Dr. Anthony Collins	President, Clarkson University
Vice President	Mr. Ronald McDougall	President, AFL-CIO Central Trades Council
Secretary	Mr. Richard Maginn	Owner, Heritage Homes Inc.
Treasurer	Mr. Thomas A. Plastino	Deputy CEO/CFO, St. Lawrence County IDA, LDC
Member	Mr. John B. Johnson	Chairman/CEO, Johnson Newspaper Corp.
Member	Mr. Eugene L. Nicandri	Retired St. Lawrence County Judge, Trustee NYPA
Member	Ms. Daphne Pickert	Executive Director and CEO of St. Lawrence County ARC
Member	Dr. Zvi Szafran	President, SUNY Canton
Member	Mr. Russell Strait	President, Harrison A. Rogers Agency

The operations of SPEC are coordinated by CITEC Inc.

News & Current Investments

March ‘06 press release
AGREEMENT INKED FOR $10 MILLION IN FUNDING BY N.Y. POWER AUTHORITY FOR GROWING HIGH-TECH JOBS IN ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY (75k pdf)