D’Addario Moves Mill to Farmingdale, Creating Jobs

While so much of manufacturing is leaving Long Island, Farmingdale-based D’Addario & Company is reversing the tide.

The well-known manufacturer of musical instrument accessories, D’Addario recently relocated its carbon steel wire mill from Massachusetts to Farmingdale, thanks to assistance from New York State, Suffolk County and the Town of Babylon.

The move is expected to create an estimated 30 new jobs on Long Island by the end of 2014.

Jim D’Addario, the company’s CEO, shared the news on Thursday by hosting a tour and press conference at the firm’s headquarters, where he thanked the state, county and town for their assistance.

In attendance were Kenneth Adams, president and CEO of the Empire State Development Corporation; Suffolk County Executive Steven Bellone; Babylon Town Supervisor Richard Schaffe; Bob Stricoff, CEO of the Babylon IDA; and Kyle Strober, Long Island director for Senator Charles Schumer.  

“Three years ago, D’Addario began research to move our struggling high carbon steel wire mill from Massachusetts to Farmingdale, NY,” D’Addario said.  

“Without the help from New York State, Suffolk County and the Town of Babylon, we could have never made this happen,” he added. “We spent nearly $3 million of our own funds to re-engineer the wire drawing and coating process, investing in all new machinery and retrofitting one of our buildings at 540 Smith Street, Farmingdale.”

The mill’s relocation enabled D’Addario to invent premium-priced guitar strings it's calling D’Addario NYXL, claiming it to be “the strongest and most stable music string on the market.” The product will be distributed in more than 120 countries.  An in-depth, intensely-creative marketing campaign is planned for the product’s launch.