Plainview firm will expand after getting 15 years' worth of IDA tax breaks
Lifetime Chimney Supply, a maker of chimney liners, will receive tax breaks to expand in Plainview rather than New Jersey, officials said. Credit: Howard Schnapp
A fast-growing manufacturer of chimney liners plans to expand in Plainview instead of New Jersey, executives said.
Lifetime Chimney Supply LLC will construct a warehouse at 171 East Ames Court. The 22,000-square-foot building will free up space in the adjacent office and plant for more production.
Company President Abraham Finkler said the $2.7 million project would more than double the factory’s size and provide needed warehousing space. Twenty-two sea containers in the parking lot now serve as an overflow warehouse, he said.
Demand for Lifetime’s stainless-steel chimney liners, particularly in New York City, has led the company to hire nine people since December, when the payroll totaled 35. Finkler said last month he expects to add at least 12 more employees within two years, based on strong sales.
Lifetime received 15 years of tax breaks for its expansion project from the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency during its April board meeting.
The company won a sales-tax exemption of up to $130,000 on the purchase of construction materials and equipment and $12,000 off the mortgage recording tax as part of a refinancing of a 2015 mortgage. The property tax rate was frozen for three years followed by increases of 2 percent in each of the following 12 years.
“Your job-growth numbers are extraordinarily impressive,” IDA chairman Richard Kessel told company officials. “This is a unique business that we need to grow here in Nassau County.”
Company president Abraham Finkler, third from left, and members of his management team pump their fists to mimic the mural on the roof of Lifetime Chimney Supply in Plainview. Credit: Corey Sipkin
Records show that Lifetime employees earn, on average, $48,570 per year.
The company’s chimney liners are found in single-family homes, businesses and large buildings in the metropolitan area and in Pennsylvania. Demand for the products has been spurred in part by changes in New York City regulations, according to Daniel J. Baker, the company’s real estate attorney.
He also said Lifeime had considered properties in New Jersey when it bought the East Ames Court location four years ago for $3 million.
“At the time, the idea was to buy this property, which has a 25,000-square-foot building on it now and had been used predominantly for office space,” he said. “Mr. Finkler’s use is obviously more manufacturing driven … but part of the plan was to extend the building, and that’s what’s happening now.”
Baker said Lifetime’s sales rose 30 percent between 2015 and 2016 “and have exceeded our growth projections ever since.” The proposed expansion would increase sales by $2 million per year, according to the company’s application for IDA aid.
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.
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