AUGUST 29, 2007, SHIRLEY, NEW YORK – Brookhaven Town Supervisor Brian X. Foley broke ground on Wednesday, August 29 for the new home for Frank Lowe Rubber and Gasket Company, which will build a new 60,000 square foot manufacturing facility at the Brookhaven Technology Center in Shirley.

   Ground was broken Wednesday on a $7.5 million, 60,000 square foot building in Shirley that will be the new home of the Frank Lowe Rubber and Gasket Company. Right to left are company President Ira Warren, Brookhaven Town Supervisor Brian X. Foley, town IDA Chairman Fred Braun, Brookhaven Town Industrial Development Agency Co-Chair Mitch Pally, company Vice President of Operations Judy Rosalez, and Jack Kulka of Kulka Construction.

   “This is just the latest example of the extraordinary success of the town’s Economic Development Division in attracting jobs and businesses to the Town of Brookhaven,” said Supervisor Foley. “The division has done an extraordinary job in bringing business and employment opportunities to the town. Division Director Ray Donnelly and Deputy Anthony Figliola have made it a major economic engine for the Town of Brookhaven and all of Long Island.

   “The office has gone from reactive to proactive. The department has used the Industrial Development Agency to drive capital investment, promoted the town’s Empire Zone aggressively and managed it tenaciously, and has worked diligently to provide new employment opportunities for Brookhaven Town residents.

   “And all the people who say that the era of good-paying manufacturing jobs is over in our great country have to look no further than the Town of Brookhaven to see how false that statement is. Frank Lowe Rubber and Gasket is another important manufacturer who has decided that Brookhaven Town is the right place to be.”

   The Frank Lowe Rubber & Gasket Co., Inc. was established in 1955 as a privately owned business, exclusively manufacturing non-metallic gaskets mainly for military suppliers on Long Island. Under the direction of Ira M. Warren, President and current owner since 1975, the company has expanded its markets and product line, and the company now specializes in products for the glass, glazing and fenestration markets.

   The company has continually expanded and improved facilities over the last 32 years. The company started in 1975 in a 1,400 square foot storefront in Queens Village and expanded to 2,500 square feet location in Whitestone and then again to 5,900 square feet in another location in Whitestone. In October 1994, the company moved to its current Farmingdale location, and space has increased from 15,000 square feet (1994), to 25,000 square feet (1999) to the current space of 35,000 square feet (2004).

   But the spaces are non-contiguous and slow down communication and production time. As a result, the company decided to construct its own facility and applied for and received an IDA bond for the project.

   The company’s staff has grown from the original 2 employees in 1975 to 23 in 1994 to 41 currently on payroll. The company expects to add between 6 and 10 employees within the first two years at the new location.

   The town has approved the company’s site plan for a 60,000 square foot building that can be expanded an additional 10,000 to 20,000 square foot for a total of 80,000 square feet. The project is expected to cost approximately $7.5 million.

   The location just off the Long Island Expressway will allow access by all the major trucking carriers, UPS, Federal Express, DHL, as well as by the common carrier trucking companies to ship products out of the area.

   “I welcome this fine company to the Town of Brookhaven, and I am glad to keep expanding the availability of good job opportunities for our residents,” said Supervisor Foley. He said that Empire Zone and IDA projected job growth is more than 500 new jobs over the next five years.

Office of the Supervisor
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