Cazenovia, N.Y. — A longtime Central New York manufacturer of switches and key fobs, which for decades relied heavily on customers from the auto industry, is expanding into the drone business.

Marquardt Switches is partnering with Airtonomy, of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Airtonomy makes software modules that, with the push of a button, allow drones to fly pre-programmed routes to inspect windmills and other hard-to-reach infrastructure such as power lines and cell towers that are often dangerous for humans to inspect.

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