Barre manufacturer closer to expansion
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By David Delcore TIMES ARGUS STAFF - Published: June 30, 2009
BARRE - A Barre-based capacitor manufacturer has cleared another key hurdle in its bid to create nearly 150 jobs in central Vermont over the next five years.
Although officials with SBE Inc. are still awaiting word on an $8 million matching grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, the company has secured "initial approval" for more than $3 million in state job creation incentives from the Vermont Economic Progress Council.
The incentives, which are still subject to final review and approval, represent a key piece of a complex financing package that will likely hinge on approval of the pending federal grant request. Word on that grant is expected some time next month.
SBE has proposed an $18 million expansion plan that includes construction of a new high-volume manufacturing facility at the Wilson Industrial Park in Barre Town. The proposed plant, which would create an estimated 140 new jobs, would focus on the production of a new generation of power ring capacitors that SBE has developed for the power train of electric and hybrid vehicles.
SBE President and CEO Ed Sawyer welcomed word that the crucial incentives were approved under the state's "Green VEGI" (Vermont Economic Growth Incentive) program.
"SBE is pleased to have the opportunity to expand in central Vermont and create sustainable green technology jobs," Sawyer said. "Without the incentives provided by the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive program, we would not be able to pursue the U.S. Department of Energy Stimulus Grant to the fullest extent and create the most economic benefit to the region."
The SBE project is eligible for an enhanced level of incentives because it would create jobs in the environmental technology sector. That higher level of incentives was created at the suggestion of Gov. James Douglas and with the approval of state lawmakers two years ago.
Pending final approval, SBE will be eligible to earn the job creation incentives over five years only if the company meets and maintains payroll, employment and capital investment targets each year.
Word that the employment incentives have tentatively been approved comes on the heels of the Vermont Economic Development Authority's recent approval of another key component of the financing package for the 50,000-square-foot manufacturing plant proposed by SBE. VEDA has authorized a $1.3 million low-interest loan to help pay for the project and leverage federal funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
A combination of the VEDA loan the VEGI incentives and private investment could help secure a federal grant that would pay up to half of the cost of getting the proposed manufacturing plant up and running in Barre Town next year. The alternative would be for SBE to pursue its expansion plans using overseas labor.
Karen L. Marshall, chairwoman of the Vermont Economic Progress Council, said the nine-member panel's favorable review of the SBE request and those from two other companies was evidence the economic news is not all bad.
"With the right combination of incentives, we can attract new companies and help Vermont companies employ more Vermonters," she said.
According to Marshall, the council gave final approval for incentives of up to $1.2 million that will help finance Commonwealth Yogurt LLC's plans to construct a Class II production facility in Brattleboro later this year. The plant is expected to employ as many as 29 workers by 2013.
In a bid to lure Terry Precision Bicycles for Women from Rochester, N.Y., to the Burlington area the council gave initial approval for incentives totaling up to $186,000.
"These projects will create jobs throughout the state," Marshall said. "They will have positive impacts on traditional sectors such as dairy farming, as well as help grow our emerging green technology industry."
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