Broadridge to invest $126M, add 262 jobs in LI modernization
The Lake Success company is receiving aid from the Suffolk IDA and Empire State Development to support the growth.
Broadridge Financial Solutions of Lake Success and Edgewood had considered expanding in New Jersey, Texas or India. Photo Credit: Newsday / Alejandra Villa
Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc. plans to invest $126 million in its Suffolk County factories and add 262 jobs over the next five years as part of a modernization effort, officials said Thursday.
The Lake Success-based public company delivers proxy statements, annual reports and other documents to shareholders on behalf of public companies, banks and other financial institutions. Some of that work is done in Edgewood by 1,735 employees.
Broadridge had considered expanding in New Jersey, Texas or India, where it also has plants, according to the company’s application for tax breaks from the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency.
CEO Richard J. Daly said the local expansion project “positions us well to tap top talent to continue to deliver solutions that allow our clients to get ahead of today’s challenges and capitalize on what’s next, while enabling Broadridge to contribute to job growth in the region.”
On Thursday, the IDA’s board of directors gave preliminary approval for a sales-tax exemption of $8 million on the purchase of computer equipment and construction materials by Broadridge for its three rented factories in Suffolk.
In addition, Empire State Development, the state’s primary business-aid agency, has awarded up to $27.5 million in grants and tax credits to the company. The state aid supports the $126 million Suffolk project and a $22 million project slated for Broadridge’s offices in Lake Success, Manhattan and White Plains. Together, those offices will hire about 100 more workers.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, in a prepared statement, said Thursday, “This project will create hundreds of in-demand jobs for New Yorkers, building on [New York State’s] position as a hub for tech and innovation.”
Broadridge already receives property tax breaks from Suffolk, and tax credits and low-cost electricity from the state, all awarded in 2012.
Records show employees earn, on average, $96,760 per year excluding health insurance and retirement benefits.
IDA Executive Director Anthony J. Catapano noted that Broadridge has hired hundreds of people since the early 1990s, when it had fewer than 100 employees in Suffolk.
“Public companies, like Broadridge, have multiple locations in the United States and the world . . . We are happy they are going to continue to grow here,” he said in an interview.
Broadridge needs to modernize its operations in response to shareholders’ requests for email delivery of documents, senior vice president Robert Kalenka told the IDA board on Thursday, adding many of the new hires will be in information technology.
Broadridge, with annual sales of $4 billion, is coveted by other states.
In 2012 company executives said three out-of-state governors, including New Jersey’s Chris Christie, made bids to move the work now done in Suffolk to their states.
Broadridge stayed put for $39 million in tax breaks and electric bill reductions from New York State, Suffolk, Islip Town and local utilities. In return the company pledged to invest $77 million, mainly in machinery, and retain its local payroll.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone personally lobbied Broadridge on its latest expansion.
He said on Thursday the IDA incentives are “a major factor in keeping Broadridge . . . and creating hundreds of high-paying jobs.”