A New Jersey company is proposing to open a pallet manufacturing plant on Long Island and to create 40 jobs, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Tuesday.
Greenway Products & Services LLC is one of two businesses with local projects to win new allocations of low-cost electricity from the state Power Authority. The other is food service giant Sysco Corp.’s operation in Central Islip.
The ReCharge NY allocations were approved by the authority’s seven trustees on Tuesday. The allocations are for seven years and can save recipients thousands of dollars annually on their electric bills.
“The Power Authority’s economic development awards will help New York establish an energy efficient infrastructure, stimulating our economy, creating jobs, revitalizing communities across the state, and paving the way for a cleaner and greener future,” Hochul said.
Some of the low-cost electricity awarded to businesses and nonprofits is produced by state-operated dams near Niagara Falls and along the St. Lawrence River upstate.
Seeking a site
Greenway president and co-founder Dominick Davi said he will scout locations in Nassau and Suffolk counties for the pallet factory, starting next month. Earlier plans to operate in Holbrook fell through when the site was purchased by another company, he said after the authority’s board meeting.
“Our intention is to open a facility back up on Long Island, but it’s not easy to find the right location,” said Davi, adding that Greenway once had a facility in New Hyde Park. That site was home to Pallets Unlimited Inc., which Greenway purchased in 2015, according the business information service Dun & Bradstreet.
“Long Island has always been a robust [market]. …We have customers in the Deer Park and Hauppauge areas,” Davi told Newsday. “The support from the [Power Authority] and New York State really helps because real estate taxes on Long Island make it cost prohibitive” to open a new plant.
In return for a cheap price on 350 kilowatts — enough to power about 315 homes — Greenway has promised to purchase and renovate a building somewhere on the Island.
The $5 million project received $1.5 million in state funding in the Regional Economic Development Councils’ competition last month.
Sysco plans charging stations
Sysco won 300 kilowatts on Tuesday to support the installation of electric charging stations at its Central Islip facility. The stations will be used to repower forklifts, authority officials said.
The $250,000 project will create three jobs and preserve another 228.
Previously, Sysco was awarded 520 kilowatts for the same building.
The Power Authority’s interim CEO, Justin E. Driscoll, said ReCharge NY allocations are “crucial to helping New York businesses rebound from the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic.” He said the allocations “not only benefit the recipients … but also the communities that they serve.”
James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.
