CPI Aero to add 80 jobs in tax-break deal
Edward Fred, chief executive and president of CPI Aerostructures, checks a part for Sikorsky copters. (Nov. 24, 2010) Credit: File / Ed Betz
CPI Aerostructures Inc., an Edgewood defense contractor, promised to create 80 jobs on Long Island in return for $900,000 in tax incentives, Empire State Development Corp., New York's primary business growth agency, said Thursday.
CPI Aero makes parts for military and civilian helicopters and airplanes, specializing in wing edges.
In the incentive deal, the company agreed to employ 80 new full-time workers by June 30, 2015, and retain 142 existing jobs. As part of the agreement, CPI Aero must maintain that level of employment through 2022. The tax credits will be awarded over 10 years.
The news comes at a time when Long Island has had mixed success in attracting or keeping companies that are also being wooed by other states. Arrow Electronics Inc., the Island's largest publicly traded company, said last month it is moving its headquarters from Melville to Colorado, though it said the move wouldn't reduce its local employee count.
In a news release on CPI Aero, state officials said the deal would "prevent [the company] "from relocating to a larger facility in Georgia or North Carolina."
Jola Szubielski, a spokesman for the agency, said, "CPI Aero will renovate a portion of its 171,000-square-foot facility located at 91 Heartland Blvd., acquire machinery and equipment and invest a total of $1.67 million in order to expand its manufacturing operations."
Edward Fred, CPI Aero's president and chief executive, said in a statement, "Our roots are here and so is our future. We appreciate the support and assistance from Empire State Development."
In June, CPI Aero said it had signed an 11-year lease on the new, much larger facility after winning a series of government contracts.
Vincent Palazzolo, chief financial officer at CPI Aero, said in an email the company originally considered expanding into smaller quarters -- with the option of moving "some future work someplace else." After discussions with state officials, "we decided to move the entire operation to one very large facility, which included room to grow."
