Six companies coming to LI for START-UP NY tax breaks

Six businesses have been accepted into the START-UP NY tax free zone at Stony Brook University in return for promises to create 90 jobs and invest more than $3 million, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Tuesday.

The small companies, all of which are technology startups and manufacturers, are the first local participants in the START-UP NY program, which Cuomo launched last year.

The businesses will pay no state and local taxes for up to 10 years. Their employees will pay no state income taxes for up to 10 years.

To be eligible for START-UP NY, companies must be new to New York State, recently graduated from a state-recognized incubator, be returning to the state or be starting a new operation. They also cannot compete with an existing company in the area.

"The big attraction for me was the Center for Biotechnology at Stony Brook," said Reinhard Warnking, president of Guided Interventions, a 3-year-old company in Elyria, Ohio. He has been an entrepreneur-in-residence at the center since last year, working on a medical device for asthma patients.

Warnking said the START-UP NY tax benefits would help to conserve cash while Guided conducts further research. He plans to move the company to the university's Long Island High Technology Incubator.

Guided is one of three START-NY recipients based outside New York State. Saniteq of Lake Worth, Florida, is also shifting its entire operation to Stony Brook.

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Among the group, Saniteq is creating the most jobs: 28. It designs and manufactures computer-based industrial and commercial products, including an ultrasonic flow meter that can be used on oil and natural gas pipelines.

Saniteq will be housed in the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center, also on campus. The company plans to invest $600,000 there.

The largest investment -- $1.48 million -- was pledged by Killer Content of New York City to establish a media facility at the Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology.

Killer Content was created by the merger of Killer Films, an independent film company, and Glass Elevator Media, which develops and monetizes content across platforms. Killer Content expects to create 18 jobs.

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Stony Brook's president, Dr. Samuel L. Stanley Jr., said the university "is thrilled to have companies working on the frontier of knowledge for biotechnology, energy and new media on our campus through the START UP NY program."The other START-UP NY companies and their employment and investment commitments are:

-- GridBridge Inc. specializes in power delivery and plans to create five jobs and invest $150,000. It will remain in North Carolina but expand here.

-- Jasmine Universe LLC, a new company in Uniondale that develops energy management systems for homes, will create 17 jobs and invest $273,400.

-- Polynova Cardiovascular Inc., a startup manufacturer of medical devices, plans to hire 17 people and invest $314,000. Some of the Stony Brook-based company's technology comes from the university.