Long Island-based electronics company poised to have production solely in the U.S.
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. -- A Long Island company is gearing up to make electronic devices -- from start to finish -- in the U.S., moving manufacturing from overseas.
It hopes to change the global landscape of where millions of smartphones, hotspots, and tablets are made.
Odds are the device in your hands was not made in the U.S., but in China or other parts of the world.
Mike Narula wants to change that.
"Everything you see right now is coming from China. Our goal is to manufacturer all of this in New York," Narula said.
The CEO of Hauppauge-based Orbic, a maker of electronic devices, is launching a made-in-the-USA effort.
"The project name is 'Project Patriot,'" Narula said.
He is moving his manufacturing of 5 million devices annually from India and China to Long Island.
"We ship them to Verizon, Verizon is our number one partner," Narula said.
It's a first in New York and perhaps the nation. Hotspots, laptops, smartphones, and watches will ne made start to finish in the U.S., beginning in October with 500 new jobs in a plant which currently only does warranty work.
"Cost of labor is higher when you compare it to China, but I don't think that's the right comparison. There is a lot of value in manufacturing products here -- better quality, better control and supply chain, growing security concerns," Narula said.
A $30 million investment will be offset by property and sales tax breaks by New York state and the Suffolk Industrial Development Agency.
"You want to keep the young people and great job opportunities in advanced manufacturing. Not only are they great and good-paying jobs, there is a trajectory for advancement," said Kelly Murphy, director of the Suffolk IDA.
"It makes perfect sense and somebody has to be the first, so we decided to be the first," Narula added.
An immigrant from India, Narula said he hopes the ambitious goal catches on.
"This place has given us a lot of opportunities and now we feel that to give back," he said. "Every family has multiple devices, tablets, connected laptops, etc., and billions of dollars are being spent and spent overseas to get those products manufactured."
The company sees potential in working with U.S. schools to replace all those millions of Chromebooks and laptops that are distributed to students and teachers.
"More than 95% of the products they are using currently are made in China," Narula said.
Not for long.
Orbic is also working with Queensborough Community College to train students for the upcoming jobs.