Century Service Affiliates, Inc. Experiences Growth Using R&D Tax Credits

Background

Century Service Affiliates, Inc. is a family-owned business that specializes in providing custom foam and case solutions for every type of need imaginable. This Paterson, NJ-based custom foam fabricator has been calling New Jersey home for over 30 years. Century Service Affiliates manufactures all types of carry cases including: blow molded plastic cases, injection molded cases, all-weather cases, and shipping cases. They are fully staffed and manufacture their products completely in-house at their 39,000 square foot New Jersey facility.

Their Pro-Design team works with customers to create the perfect custom case solution for their items by creating and producing custom foam inserts or a case with precut foam. Their cases come from all major manufacturers, including Pelican, Doro, SKB, Seahorse, Nanuk, Flambeau, and HPRC.

Challenge

Small and medium-sized manufacturers can be eligible for R&D Tax Credits, but need the right kind of expertise to navigate through all the documentation. NJMEP account manager Stacy Cooke informed Century Service Affiliates they could apply for the R&D Tax Credit for Tax Year 2020.

Century Service Affiliates looked into the tax credits and noticed their work qualifies as R&D. This tax credit was particularly important because they were conducting R&D work on their printing foam and print builder at the height of the COVID pandemic. They needed support from an expert to identify ways to optimize their R&D tax credit. Without the tax credit, they couldn’t stay competitive or purchase the machinery needed to produce their new products.

“We looked into it. We saw that what we’re doing is R&D and we would be eligible for the credits. We’re changing things, doing things, and 2020 was specifically the year that we started our research and development on our printing foam and our print builder.”

Steve Holand, Century Service Affiliates Inc. Owner & President

Solution

Century Service Affiliates enlisted NJMEP to help them after prior positive experiences with earning the R&D tax credits dating back to 2018. Through their past project successes, and after being informed of the tax credit for 2020, they enlisted Stacy’s help. Stacy, who has years of experience working with businesses to qualify for tax credits, walked Century Service’s team through all the steps.

She helped ensure they understood the tax credit process, and provided the information needed to move forward. Through examination, verification, and staff interviews of all of Century Service Affiliates’ projects and activities for 2020, the team put together documentation that ensured Century Service Affiliates qualified for the credits.

“Stacy put us in the right direction. She was there the whole time, holding our hand and making sure that we understood it and making sure that we got the most out of it. We worked hand in hand with Stacy and she helped us and provided us the information that we needed to move forward,” stated Holand.

The following steps were taken:

1. Century Service Affiliates enlisted NJMEP to help them after prior positive experiences with earning the R&D tax credits, dating back to 2018. Through their past project successes and after being informed of the tax credit for 2020, they enlisted Stacy’s help. Stacy, who has years of experience working with businesses to qualify for tax credits, walked Century Services’ team through all the steps.
2. She helped ensure they understood the tax credit process, and provided the information needed to move forward. Through examination, verification, and staff interviews of all of Century Service Affiliates’ projects and activities for 2020, the team put together documentation that ensured Century Service Affiliates qualified for the credits.
3. “Stacy put us in the right direction. She was there the whole time, holding our hand and making sure that we understood it and making sure that we got the most out of it. We worked hand in hand with Stacy and she helped us and provided us the information that we needed to move forward,” stated Holand.
4. Each of the points above requires multiple individual steps and documentation to finish. Without the right support and partner, qualifying for R&D tax credits is a long and complex process. Having an R&D professional with experience put together a report after identifying all the activities, documents, and familiarity in Federal and state tax credits ensures Catbridge has everything needed to qualify

Results

Century Service Affiliates was able to meet all the R&D Tax Credit TY 2020 requirements while saving time and the extra work of putting all the information together. They expressed interest in continuing NJMEP’s service for the next tax credit. Below is the reported impact from engaging with NJMEP:

• Increased Sales: $150,000
• Retained Sales: $200,000
• Employees Retained: 5
• Jobs Created: 2
• Cost Savings: $50,000