pictured l. to r. Rotary President Chris Imperato and Brad Hemingway, Executive Director, Town of Islip Foreign Trade Zone Authority
The Town of Islip Foreign Trade Zone, also known as FTZ52, is a designated 52 acre area within the Town of Islip, New York, authorized by the United States government for specific trade-related activities. With the nicest sign on Vets Highway in Ronkonkoma, FTZ52 provides businesses situated within its boundaries incentives aimed at promoting international trade and competitiveness. We had the enjoyment hearing from speaker Brad Hemingway, the Executive Director of the TOI Foreign Trade Zone, who gave us the skinny. Brad said it has two (2) prongs: The first being an Economic Development Corp., whereby local and non-profit businesses are offered grants. In fact, 2 million federal dollars were distributed during the COVID pandemic to local American small business owners, as "small business is the fabric thread of our community".
Prong 2 consists of the "IDA" or Industrial Development Association to encourage and incentivize businesses to come to town. "We help to identify projects within our town industry, like construction projects for example, to develop and plant seeds for the future that will help to keep the tax base down, thus providing investments into the community down the road".
The primary focus of the Industrial park is to offer import/export business outside the US territory with tax incentives. These incentives include deferred or reduced customs duties, streamlined customs procedures, and exemption from certain state and local taxes. By facilitating smoother import and export processes, FTZ52 encourages investment, job creation, and economic growth within the our town and extended to Suffolk County. Businesses operating within this zone have the advantage of conducting international trade more efficiently, thereby enhancing their global competitiveness. For more information, please visit www.ftz52.com