A Plainview company that makes de-icing and temperature-control gear for airplanes is set to be sold to a subsidiary of one of the world’s biggest oil companies, under a proposed deal.

Cox & Company Inc. is negotiating a sale to Hutchinson Corp., the Michigan-based subsidiary of a French company with the same name that is owned by the conglomerate TotalEnergies, a public company also based in France.

The transaction is expected to close on or before July 1, according to a letter that Cox's real estate attorneys sent to the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency. The IDA granted the company a second round of tax breaks in 2017.  

Newsday obtained the letter on Friday via the state Freedom of Information Law.

The price of the sale wasn't disclosed. 

Cox doesn't plan to move its operations off Long Island or reduce its workforce of more than 200 people, attorney Daniel P. Deegan told IDA board members at a meeting on Thursday.

“All the employees would stay in place,” he said.

Cox's tax breaks are to run through 2033. But in order for that to happen, the IDA must first approve the ownership change. An approval resolution was adopted unanimously on Thursday.  

Cox has been 100% owned by its employees since 2004. Their shares would be purchased by Hutchinson as part of the pending sale, Deegan said.

Cox was founded during World War II in a local barn by Duncan Cox and his brothers to address icing on U.S. military planes. The company has since provided de-icing equipment for bombers, reconnaissance aircraft, helicopters and corporate jets.

Cox also played a role in the 1960s building of the Lunar Module in Bethpage, providing hydraulic heaters to keep the spacecraft’s computers warm on the Moon.

Cox eventually moved its headquarters to Manhattan but moved back to Long Island in 2008 with help from the IDA and Empire State Development, the state’s primary business-aid agency.

The IDA provided an initial round of tax breaks and ESD awarded state tax credits of up to $267,574.  About 50 people have been added to the company’s payroll since then, bringing the total to 209 as of 2023, according to state records.

The Cox headquarters and factory on Old Country Road spans 110,000 square feet and features a wind tunnel for testing de-icing equipment.

Cox CEO John Smith wouldn't say much about the company's sale when contacted by Newsday on Friday.

"The corporate positions of both Cox and Hutchinson are we don’t have any comment before the deal is finalized," he said.

Hutchinson's aerospace division also sells de-icing and temperature-control equipment for airplanes, along with vibration control systems and sealings. Hutchinson's parent company, TotalEnergies, produces and sells oil, natural gas and chemicals.