One of Tektite’s heavy duty flashlights being manufactured
High taxes and workplace mandates have taken their toll on a longtime Trenton manufacturer, who explained in an op-ed published by ROI-NJ this morning that he is looking to move to Pennsylvania.
As Scott Mele, president of Tektite Industries explains, the company has been growing in Trenton for 29 years and championing the state’s capital city as a home to manufacturing.
Mele writes:
“But, sadly, I now count myself as one of the many business owners in the state who are very seriously looking to relocate across the river to Pennsylvania. In fact, we have already investigated four sites thus far and have another 10 or so on our list.
“In our case, New Jersey’s high taxes, compounded by the new workplace mandates over the past year, are simply too much to bear. We are already eliminating our summer internship program and, in order to stay in New Jersey, we will need to eliminate or greatly reduce our contributions to our employee healthcare….
“I was born and raised here. My father is a retired New Jersey state trooper. I consider myself a Trenton booster. But the cost of doing business, our high taxes and our officials’ failure to recognize the overall impacts of their policies leave me little choice but to look elsewhere.”
And so the Exodus begins…………………..
I am also a native of nj with a small mfg business in hunterdon county – after 30 yrs I have also started to seriously look “across the river” for a better environment – I expect to relocate within 2 yrs.
Our aim was to grow in New Jersey — our home. We made the decision to expand outside of New Jersey in the early 1980s. Our business was located in North Brunswick. We were growing rapidly, and actively sought nearby sites for expansion. The high tax burden coupled with overreaching and intrusive regulations caused us to consider and explore locations other than New Jersey. Business is business. We successfully opened a manufacturing facility in Maryland. Within a year we opened another manufacturing site in Bucks County Pennsylvania. Those facilities supported much of our growth.
We have an opportunity to expand our Manufacturing capabilities. Given the anti-business environment in NJ we are looking to open New operations in Pennsylvania. The Governor and Legislators do not understand basic economics. Once we establish an operation in PA we will begin the process of moving our entire operation along with 30 current high paying jobs to PA.
Thank You NJ I also born and raised daughters and grandchildren have to homes north and south Jersey been in business since 1957 I have been personally running my belting business for 47 years I also will start looking to get out . Thanks again NJ
I read somewhere that “Democracy is a ship of state with many officers charting a straight course in every direction.” We must stop electing self-serving politicians and replace them with leaders who embrace a common course toward mutual prosperity.
New Jersey’s reliance on over taxing industry leaders, employers and employees to prop up public sector entitlements and pensions is rapidly overcoming the academic graduates and private business sectors’ consideration of New Jersey as a viable alternative.
It’s really simple. Socialism needs the money that Capitalism creates. Once it is gone we become Venezuela.
If we keep bringing the same rhetoric/officials to the state house, this will never change.