Leviton Relocates Headquarters, with Several Hundred Jobs, to Route 110 Corridor with Help of Suffolk Industrial Development Agency Incentives

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy announced today that a major high tech manufacturer has relocated its headquarters to the Route 110 corridor in the town of Huntington.

Over the past year, Levy and his Industrial Development Agency (IDA) have worked to bring Leviton to Suffolk County. Formerly based in Great Neck, Leviton has recently completed the relocation of its company headquarters to the Long Island Expressway’s North Service Road.

“Landing Leviton right here is a great boon to Suffolk County,” Levy said. “The Route 110 corridor can be a national epicenter for the high-tech industry, and it is my hope that we continue this exciting economic growth which brings 400 career-type jobs now based here in Suffolk for our residents.”

“Our new office complex reflects our culture and identity as a pacesetter in green building design and provides an operating environment that enables us to best serve our customers around the globe,” said Leviton President and CEO Donald J. Hendler. “We look forward to joining the Suffolk County community as a resource and as an effective, socially responsible corporate citizen.”

Levy and the IDA worked with Leviton to get the electronics manufacturer a sales tax exemption on the construction materials and equipment Leviton would need to renovate the facility to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards through an IDA benefits program – an estimated value of $1.2 million. Leviton has made a multi-million dollar investment in its new facility, located on 10 acres of property in Melville.

Levy has been an ardent proponent of having high-tech industries relocate to Suffolk County, having his IDA provide incentives to corporations whenever possible. The IDA provides financial assistance and incentives by issuing tax exempt or taxable bonds, or providing straight lease transactions. Revenue bonds are available for relocating or expanding businesses and can be used to finance the purchase and rehabilitation of existing facilities and purchase of machinery and equipment. The IDA may also provide sales tax abatement, real property tax abatements and exemption from mortgage tax.

Levy added, “Leviton is just the most recent in a successful string of companies relocating or expanding operations in this county with hundreds of jobs, including Honeywell, Air Techniques, Henry Schein, Uncle Wally’s Muffins, Contract Pharmaceutical, and the crème de la crème, Canon USA -- which will bring up to 2,000 career-type jobs for Long Islanders here in Suffolk,” said Levy.

“When you bring these large corporations in, you create more jobs for your residents and more revenue for your local businesses. It’s truly a win-win,” he added.

Leviton was founded in 1906, producing tip mantles for gaslamps. Over the next century, Leviton – a third-generation family-owned private company -- continued to adapt to new challenges and technologies of the modern electric-powered age. Leviton operates warehouses and distribution centers across the nation to efficiently serve a diverse range of customers. The company employs representatives in five continents and over 100 countries and has manufacturing facilities in the U.S., China and Mexico. Leviton produces more than 25,000 different products that serve the needs of its residential, commercial, industrial and OEM customers. Products are marketed through electrical distributors, retailers and direct to companies that purchase components they integrate into their own manufacturing operations.

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