JUNE 6, 2006, FARMINGVILLE, NY – Supervisor Brian X. Foley last week welcomed the opening of the 250,000 square foot Intercounty Appliance corporate offices and warehouse distribution center building in the town’s Empire Zone, saying it will add 90 new jobs to the local economy.

“I promised to bring new jobs into town for the residents of Brookhaven through the effective use of our Empire Zone and I am delivering on that promise,” said Supervisor Foley.  “Intercounty was being aggressively courted by New Jersey but wanted to stay here on Long Island.  And in the end, like so many other businesses, they came to the only place on Long Island that had the available land, infrastructure and workforce to accommodate a business of this size, Brookhaven Town.”

Through Supervisor Foley’s Workforce Development program, the Division of Economic Development will be working with Intercounty to connect local job seekers to the 90 new positions that will be created with this expansion. This Workforce Development Plan is the first of its kind in the New York State Empire Zone’s program and has already caught the attention of several other zones that want to replicate it in their areas.

Intercounty Appliance Corp. is one of the leading buying cooperatives in the appliance and electronics industry, serving the Northeast region. Construction on the new building started in 2004 and the official ribbon-cutting took place Wednesday, May 31. The 250,000-square-foot-building is  located in the South Silver Industrial Park in Medford.

“We are very proud of our new state-of-the-art facility, and we are very proud of how far Intercounty has come in the past 50 years,” said Vito Blandi, president of Intercounty. “Our larger, technologically advanced offices and warehouse allows for excellent communication with our members, plus provides an environment conducive for management and staff’s increased efficiency and productivity.”

Intercounty is the 5th largest appliance buying cooperative in the U.S.  It is owned and operated by its more than 80 members, each of whom are independent, local appliance store retailers located throughout the northeast.  Co-owners include Brookhaven retailers Two Guys Discount Appliances in Lake Grove and Dunrite Appliance Co. in Center Moriches.

Intercounty is exactly the type of business that the Foley administration wants to bring into the township--a growing business with an expanding workforce and local investment and ties to other local businesses fostering a strategic economic cluster that boosts the local economy.

##
Office of the Supervisor
One Independence Hill • Farmingville • NY 11738 • Phone (631) 451-6955 • Fax (631) 451-6677
www.Brookhaven.org