Barre Town and Waterbury firms to benefit from incentive funds
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By BRUCE EDWARDS Rutland Herald Staff - Published: December 19, 2009
The Vermont Economic Progress Council awarded $5.8 million in incentives that it says will create 532 new jobs.
SBE Inc. received final approval for up to $3 million in incentives for an $18.2 million expansion that's estimated to create between 100 and 150 jobs over four years.
Barre Town-based SBE intends to build a 52,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in the Wilson Industrial Park to produce components for electric and hybrid vehicles.
"We've been contracted by the Department of Energy to produce 100,000 of our innovative power ring film capacitors (for automotive drive trains)," SBE spokesman Brad Gordon said Friday.
The SBE patented capacitors take direct current from the battery and convert it to alternating current, which powers the electric motor that drives the vehicle.
The DOE has already approved $9.1 million in stimulus funds for the project with SBE responsible for another $9.1 million in matching funds.
Without the $3 million Vermont Employment Growth Incentive or VEGI, Gordon said the expansion in Barre would not be taking place.
"The reality of it is before we received the Department of Energy funding, and in addition to the VEGI funding, this project had been planned to possibly move to China," Gordon said.
Pending final DOE project approval and a federal environmental assessment, Gordon said ground breaking is expected to take place in the spring.
The expansion at the Wilson Industrial Park is in addition to the South Main Street headquarters facility, which employs 50 people.
Gordon said pay for the new jobs will start at $13 an hour for production workers and higher for other positions.
He said a 47,300-square-foot, second-phase expansion, could eventually bring total employment to between 300 and 500.
The Vermont Economic Progress Council this week also gave initial approval for up to $933,206 in incentives to Revision Eyewear of Essex Junction, a company that makes protective eyewear for the U.S. military.
"While Revision has always been very pleased with its decision to locate and grow in Vermont, we had choices regarding other locations in which to establish additional facilities to accommodate our projected expansion," Revision CEO Jonathan Blanshay said in a statement. "In a very competitive environment, cost and efficiency are important factors to consider."
The economic incentives are based on potential job creation and capital investments that must occur before the company earns the incentives. The incentives are made in installments over a period of years.
VEPC also gave final approval to the following projects:
Terry Precision Bicycles, Burlington, up to $126,296 after its relocation from New York.
Northern Power Systems, Barre Town, up to $808,104 for an expansion of its wind turbine factory.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Waterbury, up to $292,307 for an expansion of its facilities in Chittenden County.
Seldon Technologies, of Windsor, up to $478,396 for an expansion of its factory to make high-tech filters.
Maple Mountain Woodworks, Richford, up to $143,436 worth of incentives for its start-up pulpwood processing plant.
VEPC said the $5.8 million in incentives are estimated to help retain 932 jobs, create 532 new jobs directly and 875 indirect jobs, resulting in an additional $26.5 million in payroll and $38 million in new capital investments.
VEPC approved the applications after reviewing program guidelines and applying a rigorous cost-benefit analysis. Even after payment of the incentives, VEPC said the state will realize a minimum net increase in tax revenues of $3.7 million over five years.
The council also determined that without the incentives the projects would not occur or would occur in a significantly different and less desirable way.
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