Hicksville candy manufacturer adding workers, space: NYS

Nassau Candy plans to invest $3 million in its Hicksville facility, adding 20,000 square feet of space and new machinery, state officials said.

The manufacturer is among four local recipients of new allocations of low-cost electricity from the state Power Authority. The others are RSM Electron Power Inc. Seviroli Foods Inc. and Spectrum Designs Foundation Ltd.

The ReCharge NY allocations are for seven years and can save businesses and nonprofits thousands of dollars annually on their utility bills.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said the allocations help to reduce the state’s dependence on fossil fuels because some of the electricity is produced by dams near Niagara Falls and along the St. Lawrence River in upstate.

The allocations attract "new private capital investment [by businesses] and create hundreds of good jobs," she said.

In return for 156 kilowatts of cheap power, Nassau Candy has promised to add five jobs and preserve another 621. Previous allocations totaling 656 kilowatts cover an additional 393 employees, authority records show.

For comparison, 1,000 kilowatts can power between 800 and 1,000 homes.

A Nassau Candy representative didn’t respond to requests for comment last week.

The company plans several improvements to its 300 Duffy Ave. factory and may make gummy candy, according to its ReCharge NY application.

Nassau Candy — primarily a wholesale manufacturer — produces chocolate-covered raisins and pretzels, fudge, fruit slices, roasted nuts, hand-dipped chocolate cherries and other treats.

The company was started in 1918 as a retail store on Front Street in Hempstead Village and has since expanded its Duffy Avenue facility multiple times with help from the state and Nassau County Industrial Development Agency.

Nassau Candy also has distribution centers in Florida, Michigan, California and Texas.

The power allocation will help Nassau Candy "to continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and prosper in the years ahead," said state Sen. Kevin Thomas (D-Levittown).

Among the latest power recipients, Nassau Candy’s expansion project is the most expensive and it has committed to retaining the most employees.

The largest power allocation — 1,030 kilowatts — was awarded to Seviroli Foods Inc.

The Garden City-based pasta manufacturer plans to open a factory, warehouse and office in Hauppauge. The $1 million project will create 15 jobs for Seviroli, the world’s largest maker of frozen tortellini.

State Sen. Anna Kaplan (D-Great Neck) said one of the power recipients, Spectrum Designs in Port Washington, is a small business with 28 employees and in July additional ReCharge NY electricity was set aside for small businesses.

Then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed into law a bill that earmarks 150 megawatts of ReCharge’s 910 megawatts for small businesses and nonprofits, an increase of 50 megawatts.