Office of Economic Development | Town of Islip

This January, local officials from the Town of Islip joined Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter at a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of Castella Imports’ new headquarters. And there was good reason to celebrate.

We worked closely with the Mediterranean food and spice company to help orchestrate their move to a 75,000-square-foot facility in the Heartland Business complex in Edgewood. The company will next plan to expand their manufacturing capacity in their existing location in Hauppauge. By making a $2.5 million capital investment in the new Edgewood facility, Castella will receive a series of sales tax exemptions and will add 40 new jobs.

Hauppauge-based pharmaceutical firm LNK International recently became the third company in 2018 to qualify for designation in our foreign trade zone (FTZ). Their inclusion will make them exempt from many U.S. Customs rules and regulations and allow them to defer, reduce or eliminate tariffs on merchandise trade.

The Town of Islip is home to the only FTZ on Long Island. Through our alternate site framework program, we can help companies across Islip establish a FTZ designation at their existing locations. This doesn’t just benefit companies like LNK and its 1000 employees, but positively impacts the entire region’s economy.

The Town of Islip has recently partnered with Massachusetts-based solar company Agilitas Energy to transform two closed landfills in Holbrook and Hauppauge into green energy solar facilities. It’s a move we believe will generate both clean power and increased income for our taxpayers.

We are thrilled about this “win-win” deal for Islip. Agilitas Energy has leased the underutilized properties for $120,000 a year and expects to generate over seven million kilowatts of electricity annually—enough to power over 5,000 homes. The electricity generated will be sold to PSEG Long Island, providing clean energy for residents, while reducing our carbon footprint.

Aeroflex Plainview Inc., one of the largest aerospace manufacturing companies in the world, is bringing its offices in Plainview and Hauppauge together under one roof, right here in the Town of Islip! The company has just leased 96,000-square-feet of property in Bohemia—an area known as Long Island’s hub for aerospace technology.

Aeroflex could have easily made the decision to move elsewhere, but we won them over with a benefits package that included $1.23 million in tax breaks over the course of the 12-year lease. And by choosing Islip, Aeroflex will retain 246 jobs in our labor market while adding 25 more over the next two years.