Hawaiian manufacturer heading to Las Vegas

A Honolulu company that manufactures and sells indoor and outdoor LED lights, marketing exclusively in Japan, will relocate to Las Vegas and use it as a base to enter the North American market.

High Tech Lights LLC eventually would hire 150 people in Southern Nevada and invest $1.2 million in equipment for a new 10,000-square-foot facility. The company’s capital investment and average wage of $20 an hour qualified it for tax abatements and deferrals that were unanimously approved today by the state Economic Development Commission.

Tony Jones, president of High Tech Lights, said the earthquake and tsunami in Japan earlier this year severely affected business for his company, hastening plans to expand to new markets. From the company’s new Las Vegas headquarters, it will launch a five-year plan to market in North America.

Jones said Las Vegas was chosen because of its proximity to the West Coast. High Tech Lights is close to signing a lease to build its plant and headquarters, he said, adding the facility would be close to freeway access.

The company’s manufacturing facility is moving from mainland China, where Jones said labor costs have increased 30 percent since the plant went on line in 2007. Jones said research and development materials already are being shipped to Las Vegas from China, and the company’s 50 R&D employees would start work within six weeks.

Within a year, Jones expects the company to have 100 employees.

Jones said he is encouraged by the quality of applicants the company has interviewed in Southern Nevada. The company is being assisted through the Silver State Works Program and is hiring from a pool of qualified applicants who are unemployed.

High Tech Lights manufactures energy efficient, common-use spotlights, streetlights and replacements for fluorescent lighting. Jones said the company doesn’t compete in the novelty and specialty lighting sectors, so its products won’t be a part of Las Vegas’ casino sign displays.

The incentive programs approved by the commission give High Tech Lights more than $130,000 in benefits.

The state will abate sales tax to 2 percent for one year, worth an estimated $71,565. The modified business tax will be abated by 50 percent for four years, with an estimated worth of $38,865. The company also will get a 60-month deferral on the sales tax.

Training grants worth $121,000, administered by the state through a federal program, will give High Tech Lights $2,420 per trained employee.

An analysis of the incentives — conducted by the state economic development office — says the company would generate $1.6 million in new taxes over 10 years and would produce an economic impact of $198.1 million for the state over that same time frame. The economic impact on the state would be $1,794 for every abatement dollar approved, analysts estimated.

State officials also noted that the company is a part of the renewable energy sector, a targeted industry in the state’s plan to diversify the economy.

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