Ribbon-cutting for company’s Long Island debut

Islip Town officials welcomed Cummins Power Systems to Ronkonkoma on Wednesday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the company’s first location on Long Island.

The company’s new 52,000-square-foot facility, located on Veterans Memorial Highway, is expected to add 30 jobs from maintenance technicians to sales positions in the next five years, said town Supervisor Tom Croci.

“We said that we wanted to bring big and good companies into Islip, the kind of jobs that people want to have and enable them to live in Islip township and not have to commute far distances,” Croci said, adding that for years before Cummins moved into the space, it was “one of those buildings on Vets Highway that had grass growing up on the parking lot, and we just gave that building and that company life here.”

Cummins, which manufactures, sells and repairs engines and engine-related products, is a multinational, publicly traded company with locations in Newark and the Bronx.

Croci said Cummins first approached the new town administration shortly after it took office in January, and said he was particularly interested in bringing the company to Islip because Cummins is known to hire heavily from the military.

“They really do give weight to veteran status because of the expertise with heavy equipment and engine operations,” Croci said.

Islip officials said they assisted Cummins throughout the permitting process, and are working to help the company get a tax certiorari settlement so it can be assessed at a lower value and pay less in taxes on the property.

Above: Islip Town Hall