Amityville maker of shower drains wins low-cost electricity for $10.5M expansion

A manufacturer of shower drains is among seven local businesses and nonprofits to be awarded low-cost electricity from New York State, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced.

Infinity Drain Ltd. received 190 kilowatts from the state Power Authority’s ReCharge NY program in return for pledging to spend $10.5 million on its operation in Amityville.

The company is expanding its 45,000-square-foot building at 145 Dixon Ave. by 18,000 square feet, or 40%. The project follows a 6,000-square-foot addition in 2018, according to CEO Jonathan Brill.

“The market continues to grow for our architectural drain products, particularly from the housing industry,” he said, adding that the company has eight patents.

Brill purchased the Dixon Avenue building in 2015 along with its occupant, Jaxson Rollforming Inc. He had approached Jaxson several years earlier about producing stainless-steel shower drains. At the time, Jaxson, which was founded in 1905, was turning out display fixtures for use by retailers and others.

“Today, we’re focusing solely on architectural drain products,” Brill said. “But our building is very long and narrow — and not efficient when it comes to production. By constructing this addition, we will be able to have our manufacturing start at the north end and be completed at the south end. There will be a singular flow” of activity, he said.

Brill said he started Infinity Drain about 15 years ago after working with his father, Phil, as a salesperson of decorative fixtures. Jonathan Brill's great-grandfather, Simon Stuchiner, founded Simon's Hardware & Bath in Manhattan in 1909, and though his "direct family sold the store in the late 1980s, it's a current customer of Infinity Drain," Jonathan Brill said. Simon's Hardware also has locations in SoHo and Water Mill.

Infinity Drain had sales of $21.5 million last year, according to the business information service Dun & Bradstreet.

The company has promised to add eight people to its workforce of 85 in return for the low-cost electricity from the state. Two employees prepare meals on weekdays for Mission Belly Full, a charity that Brill started in 2020 to feed homeless people, veterans and others in need.

The power allocation “helps us to remain here on Long Island … We're not looking to go anywhere else,” he said in an interview.

Among the seven power recipients, Infinity Drain won the largest allocation and is making the biggest investment in its operations.

S&J Operational LLC employs the most people: 150 at its Luxor Nursing and Rehabilitation at Mill Pond facility.

The nursing home in St. James was awarded 100 kilowatts to support $50,000 in improvements, according to the power authority.

CVD Equipment Corp. received 186 kilowatts to support $2.5 million in equipment purchases for its facility in Central Islip.

The public company makes equipment used to manufacture materials and coatings for the aerospace, medical, semiconductor and solar cell markets. Customers include NASA, Intel, Honeywell and Brookhaven National Laboratory. 

The deal with the power authority calls for five people to be added to CVD's workforce of 90, authority records show.

Each power allocation is for seven years. Some of the electricity is generated by dams near Niagara Falls and along the St. Lawrence River upstate.

Together, the power recipients on Long Island will create 17 jobs, preserve 493 jobs and invest $14.6 million in facility improvements, said Justin E. Driscoll, the authority’s interim president and CEO.

Statewide, the authority awarded nearly 10.7 megawatts to Amazon for a $550 million warehouse to be built in the Town of Niagara, north of Buffalo. The 3.1-million-square-foot building will be adjacent to an airport and employ about 1,000 people.

The authority also granted 140 megawatts to the Micron semiconductor factory to be built north of Syracuse. The plant, expected to be the largest of its kind in the country, will cost $100 billion over 20 years and employ up to 9,000 workers, company officials have said.

“These transformative economic development awards to Amazon, Micron and other businesses across the state will create thousands of jobs and spur billions [of dollars] in economic activity,” Hochul said.

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.