Comtech Telecommunications, a tech company that does business in more than 40 nations, has cut more than its share of ribbons. But in August, after more than half a century on Long Island, the company cut the ribbon on a new, 150,000-square-foot headquarters in Chandler, Ariz.
The company, founded in Smithtown in 1967, said it would be near some of its largest customers around Phoenix. Interim CEO John Ratigan said Comtech will “benefit from the city of Chandler’s continued commitment to innovation.”
“Chandler, Arizona, has established itself as a leading technology corridor in the United States,” Ratigan said.
Comtech, it seems, had a long love affair with Long Island, tapping local talent, enjoying proximity to New York City and local universities, acquiring companies and going public. It even got tax incentives.
But after expanding and acquiring companies, it became the latest company in an era with remote workers to move its headquarters, often westward.
Many Long Island companies are expanding in the region, investing, building and hiring, but Comtech and some other global companies are choosing to write their next chapter elsewhere.
The hub and spoke HQ
While Long Island has long touted its amenities and lifestyle, some companies are moving to New York City or adjacent states. Altice USA may serve Long Islanders, but nearly a decade ago, it moved from Bethpage to One Court Square in Long Island City, Queens.
Olympus Americas in 2006 moved to Pennsylvania, and in 2021 was acquired by Japan Industrial Partners. But some companies are continuing to move close enough so that Long Islanders can commute.
Hain Celestial Group, for instance, late last year moved its headquarters from Melville to Hoboken, N.J., driven in part by what the company called a “flexible work model.” Hain said other facilities will serve as “spokes” with functions not concentrated in one location.
“Hain’s hub and spoke work model enables broader team collaboration and greater connectivity as a global enterprise,” Hain Celestial Group Chief Executive Officer Wendy Davidson said in a statement. “It also provides us the ability to recruit the very best talent, regardless of where they are located.”
Less centralized models sometimes are leading to more distributed headquarters, while many companies still want executives close to each other.
Hain moved into the 12th floor of the Waterfront Corporate Center with what the company called “unobstructed sweeping views of New York City and the Hudson River,” including walking paths, green spaces, gyms and yoga studios, restaurants and shops. Plus, it touts public transportation options to New York City.
The Melville Move
While Melville has become the home to many national and global companies, other states have been courting these companies even as local industrial agencies try to answer.
Melville-based Arrow Electronics in 2011, for instance, moved to Englewood, Colo.
“We haven’t been shy about working to retain, grow and recruit new businesses in Colorado,” Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said at the time.
Spokesman John Hourigan recently said that initially only the address changed, although the company gradually moved more functions to Colorado. Today under 100 people work for Arrow on Long Island.
The company, with customers in 52 nations, has had “a significant presence” in Englewood since 2000.
The Englewood facility was the global center for the company’s Enterprise Computing Solutions, Arrow’s American components and global services businesses.
“Our New York operations will continue to play a key role in the company,” CEO Michael J. Long said at the time.
The departure dance
Moves often are many years in the making, only coming after local expansion. Comtech’s move came after nearly a decade of discussion and an acquisition that loosened its links to Long Island.
The company as early as 2016 was talking about moving its Melville headquarters to Maryland, Florida or Arizona, where it had manufacturing facilities.
Comtech in 2016 bought Maryland-based TCS, specializing in 911 systems, growing from 800 to 2,000 employees, which loosened its Long Island links.
“The Long Island region is susceptible to public companies leaving,” Tony Catapano, executive director of the Suffolk IDA, told LIBN at the time. “We’re trying to keep them here so that they grow here.”
Comtech in 2016 renewed about 70,000 square feet of space on Long Island, saying it would spend $1.76 million on renovations and equipment. The Suffolk County IDA offered $76,000 in sales tax exemptions and $633,000 in property tax abatements over a decade.
Long Island leaps
If some companies are exiting the region, many others are growing here. Leviton Manufacturing recently obtained $1.8 million in tax incentives to keep its headquarters on Long Island.
“We want to remain here … but we do have other options,” Caroline Kispert, Leviton’s senior director of risk management and real estate, told Newsday earlier this year.
Trade show designer and builder Nationwide 360, meanwhile, is buying a $17 million building in Hauppauge, with plans to do $1.6 million in renovations, according to Newsday.
The big changes, though, may not be in the loss of Long Island jobs after moves, but growth elsewhere with new visions of what the best locations exist.
“Our headquarters decision is among the early actions we are taking to support our multiyear transformation strategy called Hain Reimagined,” Davidson said, as she outlined plans to grow away from what had long been its home.
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