DeWITT — United Radio, a DeWitt–based repairer and remanufacturer of high-tech electronics, plans to expand next door. The idea calls for the purchase of 100,000 square feet of space it currently leases and buying an adjoining 100,000-square-foot building as it increases its local workforce by 8 percent in the coming years. “It’s just normal growth,” […]
DeWITT — United Radio, a DeWitt–based repairer and remanufacturer of high-tech electronics, plans to expand next door. The idea calls for the purchase of 100,000 square feet of space it currently leases and buying an adjoining 100,000-square-foot building as it increases its local workforce by 8 percent in the coming years.
“It’s just normal growth,” says Phil Rubenstein, company president.
At its January meeting, the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency (OCIDA) board approved tax abatements on the projects that could save United Radio $247,520 in mortgage, sales and property taxes on the expansion at 5717 Enterprise Parkway, next to its current building at 5703 Enterprise Parkway. OCIDA documents show the economic benefits from the expansion would top $22 million, including more than $12 million in wages and nearly $2.5 million in employee benefits.
Rubenstein estimates the expansion would add 35 workers in DeWitt over the next five years. The company currently has 420 employees in DeWitt and another 130 at a facility in Peachtree City, Georgia.
However Rubenstein, who owns the business with his sister, VP Mara Charlamb, cautions that the OCIDA approval by itself did not ensure the expansion would take place. OCIDA was a major contingency, he says, but there are others still to be settled.
Additionally, Rubenstein says the second building United Radio is considering purchasing is currently leased by Saab Sensis, the air-traffic management company. That lease runs another two years. “We’re not breaking their lease,” he says, adding that he does not want to foreclose on the possibility of renegotiating the lease.
In addition to supplying radio and other communication devices and services for first responders, United Radio provides after-the-sale service for the electronics industry and extensive services for automotive electronics. The company also has a research and development section that looks at new ways to repair equipment, ways to improve product design and has received patents for hardware and software.
Rubenstein says planning for the expansion is driven by growth across all parts of the company but that the largest piece of the additional space will likely be taken by the automotive division.
Preparing for the future, Rubenstein attended the early January Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Robots were the big hit of the show, he says. Rubenstein looked closely at Sony’s new yet-to-be-released robot dog, Aibo, figuring United Radio is likely to be repairing Aibos in the near future.
Rubenstein declined to disclose United Radio’s annual revenue.
