Four LI businesses get low-cost power for investments

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced that four businesses on Long Island will receive discounted electricity from the state Power Authority under the ReCharge NY program. Credit: Craig Ruttle
A food-testing company has been awarded low-cost electricity by New York State in return for promising to invest $12 million and create 32 jobs.
Certified Laboratories Inc. is among four businesses on Long Island to receive discounted electricity from the state Power Authority in its latest allocations under the ReCharge NY program. Together, the companies said they would hire 42 people, retain 623 more and invest $27 million in their operations, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Thursday.
The businesses, as a group, will use 2,572 kilowatts of low-cost power. A thousand kilowatts are capable of powering 800 to 1,000 homes.
Plainview-based Certified will do the most hiring — 32 jobs — and invest the most — $12 million. It now employs 115 and plans to triple the size of its local operation by purchasing a former Northrop Grumman office in Melville.
The 89-year-old company performs tests for meat and dairy processors, pharmaceutical companies and businesses importing from outside the United States. The tests help to determine quality, safety and nutritional value. Some of the information is used on nutrition labels for food.
Certified’s clients include pudding maker Kozy Shack in Hicksville, Love & Quiches Gourmet in Freeport and international chains such as Coca-Cola, Taco Bell and Long John Silver’s restaurants.
Certified, which has been on Long Island since 1995, will use 666 kilowatts from the power authority. In March, the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency agreed to reduce the company’s taxes by $631,300 over 10 years to keep it from moving to New Jersey.
The largest power allocation — 1,366 kilowatts — will go to Thomson Reuters, the global news and information provider with a data center in Hauppauge. In return for the power, the company has promised to maintain its workforce of 125 and to invest $5 million in cooling systems and generators, according to Power Authority spokesman Paul DeMichele.
The others receiving help and their expansion plans are:
- Arma Container Corp., awarded 250 kilowatts in return for investing $5 million in Deer Park and preserving 83 jobs.
- Long Island Fireproof Door, 290 kilowatts in Port Washington, where it plans to add 10 people to its workforce of 300 and to invest $5 million.
Cuomo said, “Providing businesses with low-cost power helps ensure that they are able to stay and grow in New York State, which creates jobs and helps revitalize communities.”
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