Radienz Living, maker of Ajax, Redi Wipes, plans to cut 145 jobs in Suffolk County

Radienz Living, formerly called U.S. Nonwovens, will terminate 145 employees who work in Melville and Brentwood. Shown is the company's facility at 105 Emjay Blvd. in Brentwood. Credit: James Carbone

A manufacturer of disinfectant wipes and other household cleaning products will cut a total of 145 jobs at three facilities in Suffolk County next year, according to a regulatory filing.

Radienz Living LLC, formerly called U.S. Nonwovens, will terminate employees at its headquarters on Broad Hollow Road in Melville and at two factories on Emjay Boulevard in Brentwood. The dismissals will start on Jan. 15 and end by July 31, the company states in its filing to the state Department of Labor.

Radienz, in the filing, called the planned layoffs a "plant closing" and said it was for "economic" reasons.

The filing coincides with less demand for disinfectant wipes, compared with the pandemic's height in 2020-21. During that time, Radienz doubled production and opened a plant and warehouse in Pennsylvania.

Neither the Radienz executive listed on the filing nor the company's owner, Wind Point Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, responded to requests for comment on Friday and this week.

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The Brentwood factories were awarded low-cost electricity from the New York Power Authority in return for employment promises.

But NYPA spokesman Paul DeMichele said it stopped supplying power in February because of Radienz's unpaid bills and refusal to submit a required employment report.

He also said Monday that NYPA stopped providing low-cost power to the Radienz plant at 360 Moreland Rd. in Commack in April 2020 because the employment report wasn't submitted.

That facility had 805 employees last year, according to a report from the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency, which in 2013 granted the company nearly $2 million in tax breaks over 12 to 15 years.

The company has created 259 jobs since winning the tax incentives, far more than the 90 jobs it promised. Employees earn on average $36,528 per year, the IDA report states.

An IDA spokesman said Monday that it hadn't been told of any changes to the Commack factory.

Two other plants in Hauppauge, at 85 Nicon Ct. and 100 Wireless Blvd., received tax breaks tied to employment levels from Empire State Development, the state's primary business-aid agency, in 2013-15, according to agency spokeswoman Emily Mijatovic.

Radienz was formed last year from U.S. Nonwovens and Soluble Packaging Solutions, which makes dishwashing products. Both are controlled by the Wind Point investment firm.

Wind Point purchased a majority stake in U.S. Nonwovens in 2019 for an undisclosed amount from the Mehdizadeh family, which started out making dryer sheets in 1995. At the time of its sale, U.S. Nonwovens had a workforce of about 1,200 people at eight factories and five warehouses.

Radienz now has nine factories and warehouses in North America, according to its website. The company's Ajax and Final Touch laundry detergents and Redi Wipes are sold by Walmart, Walgreens and other major retailers.

When U.S. Nonwovens was bought, a Wind Point spokesperson told Newsday, "We are excited for our future growth and to continue to be on Long Island."

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.

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