The business is what is says – a secured place for servers and networks, vital things needed in today’s society so we can do something as easy as hitting send on an email to processing monetary transactions.
Low moved the business – and his family – north from Massachusetts nearly a year ago, setting up in the Littleton Industrial Park, which in his search for a location, was appealing because of its fiber optics network and industrial power supply, as well as its distance from major population centers.
Why is that important?
Last month, one of the North Country’s newest companies was far enough away from the destruction of Superstorm Sandy to help businesses maintain continuity, which helped untold numbers of people maintain their continuity.
Although many of us well out of harm’s way had some inconvenience, like when our banks’ servers were affected, we suspect Kevin’s company got many others back on track, from the heart of the White Mountains.
So go ahead, we don’t mind — email a link to this post to your friends or tweet it to the universe.
Because you can …
Lorna Colquhoun
Communications Director
NH Division of Economic Development
We’re putting the finishing touches on a busy week here at the Division of Economic Development, which started at the BIO International Convention in Boston on Monday and ended with a presentation in Sherbrooke, Que. on Wednesday and a visit with a manufacturer Thursday, who, by the way, likes our message … a lot.
About 80 people turned out for dinner and a talk about taxes … specifically the lack of thereof … just a short hop from northern New Hampshire. This is a place where there is room for Quebec companies to expand into the U.S. and a skilled and enthusiastic workforce to help them do it successfully.
This is not the first time we’ve done this. Every other year or so, with sponsorship from Public Service of New Hampshire, we visit places like Drummondville, Quebec City and Sherbrooke (this was our second visit) and talk about impôts to a country that knows them well.
That’s taxes. We talk to them about New Hampshire’s lack of them. When we got to the part about aucune taxe de vente, they couldn’t believe we don’t have a sales tax here. There was an audible gasp and buzz, like we were kidding.
We weren’t and we aren’t.
As Beno Lamontagne, our business resource specialist in Carroll, Grafton and Coos Counties, said Thursday night, dinner for 80 this week was the easy part.
Next week, next month, next year and maybe years from now, the possibilities we talked about the night before last will, like a seed, bloom, prosper and grow.
Lorna Colquhoun
Communications Director
Division of Economic Development
EXETER, NH – Cobham Antenna Systems — a world leader in the design and manufacture of communication systems and antennas serving commercial aviation, defense and law enforcement – is consolidating their operations by bringing 120 new jobs from Methuen, Massachusetts to their Exeter, New Hampshire plant.
“We are excited about this move to New Hampshire, including the expansion of our Exeter plant” said John Moore, Vice-President of Cobham’s Microwave Component business unit. “Consolidating the specialized design and manufacturing of microwave and electro-mechanical rotating devices will greatly complement what we do here in Exeter.” As part of this consolidation, Cobham will close its 80,000 square foot plant in Methuen, Massachusetts.
Michael Bergeron, Business Development Manager, and Christine Davis, Business Resource Specialist, with the N.H. Division of Economic Development, worked with Cobham in this move to New Hampshire. “New Hampshire’s low taxes, business friendly attitude, and available space, helped Cobham in their decision to relocate,” said Bergeron.
Cobham is an international company that employs more than 10,000 people on five continents, with customers and partners in more than 100 countries.
For further information on the benefits of New Hampshire, contact Michael Bergeron at 603-271-2591.
Enterasys, a Siemens Enterprise Communications Company and a global provider of hardware, software and communication services, is relocating from Andover, Massachusetts to 9 Northeastern Industrial Drive in Salem, New Hampshire bringing 540 jobs to the Granite State. While the L2/L3 Ethernet switching market has been growing around 3%, Enterasys grew in double digits through the first three quarters of 2011 according to recently published Dell’Oro market reports.
Less than an hour from Boston, Enterasys will occupy approximately 190,000 square feet in Salem with construction on the space beginning in April, 2012 and occupancy by January 2013. The company also has plans to hire about 80 new employees once they are in New Hampshire.
“We have been aggressively growing our business over the past eight quarters,” said Chris Crowell, president and CEO of Enterasys. “The move to New Hampshire will reduce our costs and allow us to increase our investment in strategic initiatives in R&D and in customer-facing areas.”
“This is the right building and location for our growing company,” Crowell added, “and New Hampshire’s low tax, business friendly attitude is a great match for our company’s long term growth”.
“Enterasys will be able to continue its growth trajectory in this move from Andover to Salem and the company will save on real estate costs and taxes by moving to New Hampshire,” said Michael Bergeron, Business Development Manager for the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development who worked with Enterasys. “We are very excited about this big move.”
While other networking vendors have struggled over the recent quarters, Enterasys has outpaced its competition with consistent growth and record sales numbers. They have over 18,500 customers in 80-plus countries, over 1,000 new customers in the past year and new product developments. For further information on the company, please visit www.enterasys.com or for information on the benefits of New Hampshire, call Michael Bergeron, New Hampshire Division of Economic Development at 603-271-2591.
Shelburne Plastics has relocated its New Hampshire manufacturing operations from Manchester to Londonderry where it expanded its operation to 35,000 square feet at 27 Industrial Drive.
New Hampshire Division of Economic Development Business Development Manager Michael Bergeron assisted Shelburne in evaluating the benefits of staying and growing in New Hampshire and connected them with NH Business Finance Authority (BFA) Director Jack Donovan. The BFA provided a $750,000 energy efficiency loan for the purchase of new capital equipment.
Shelburne Plastics has been in business over twenty-five years and supplies high quality HDPE and Polypropylene bottles and containers to the dairy, water, juice, chemical and food markets throughout the Eastern United States and Eastern Canada.
Shelburne Plastics has its corporate office in South Burlington, Vermont and has manufacturing sites in South Burlington, Londonderry, New Hampshire and Jessup, Maryland.
“Michael Bergeron and Jack Donovan provided excellent service to me in this important decision to expand in New Hampshire,” said Shelburne Plastics President and CEO Eugene Torvend. “With a loan from the NH Business Finance Authority, we were able to move two production lines from our Maryland facility to New Hampshire, purchase new equipment and retain 25 jobs.”
Shelburne supplies high quality HDPE and Polypropylene bottles and containers to the dairy, water, juice, chemical and food markets throughout the Eastern United States and Eastern Canada.
Shelburne plans an open house for the first quarter of 2012. For further information on the company, visit www.shelburneplastics.com.
Secured Network Services (SNS) plans to open a new data center in Littleton, New Hampshire and hire up to ten employees over the next two years.
Left to right: Justin Flateua, SNS, Ted Casassa, SNS, Kristine Hogan, SNS, Kevin Low, SNS, Michael Bergeron, DRED, Brad Mirza, SNS, and Paul Low, SNS celebrate SNS’s expansion to Littleton, NH.
The company, whose other location is in Norwood, MA, recently signed a purchase and sales agreement to close on the old FedEx building in the Littleton Industrial Park according to New Hampshire Division of Economic Development Business Development Manager Michael Bergeron who assisted the company with its relocation.
“This is great news for the town of Littleton and we were very happy to help this company secure a New Hampshire location,” Bergeron said. “SNS is a top flight data center and they were certainly impressed with New Hampshire’s low tax environment, lower cost real estate and responsive state and local government.”
“The State of New Hampshire and Littleton welcomed us with open arms,” added SNS President Kevin M. Low. “Michael Bergeron introduced us to all the local key players to make this move happen quickly, including the building landlord, Littleton Industrial Development Corporation, Northern Community Investment Corporation, Grafton County Economic Development Council, FairPoint Communications, and Littleton Water and Power. I even got a surprise call from Governor Lynch, all through Bergeron’s coordinated efforts.”
Founded by Low in 2002, SNS supports over 70 managed clients and 350 active accounts around the world. Their services include data center hosting and co-location, storage and back up, disaster recovery, networking and monitoring, telephone support, IP Telephony and managed services including a global helpdesk. For more information on the company and how they can assist businesses with IT needs, please visit www.sns.com or call Brad Mirza at 781-948-1911.
What goes into attracting a business to the Granite State? What are the state’s unique selling points? How does a business recruiter determine which community is the right fit for a prospect?
Michael Bergeron, left, business development manager with the state business resource center talks with Nora Systems Vice President Phil Macy during a tour of the new business in Salem Monday, August 15, 2011. Nashua Telegraph staff photo by Bob Hammerstrom.
In many ways, getting a company interested in expanding or relocating to New Hampshire is like a courtship. Make no mistake – it’s not speed dating. It’s a long process that begins with the initial inquiry or outreach followed by countless meetings, emails, phone calls and detailed analyses. Sometimes the recruiter is dealing strictly with a site selector and never actually even knows who the client is until the deal progresses to the serious stage. Other times, there is an immense amount of hand holding and introductions to partnering state agencies, town officials and real estate brokers.
The Nashua Telegraph has developed a six-part series examining various aspects of the “New Hampshire Advantage” and whether the Granite State has been able to maintain its competitiveness in these areas. Yesterday’s installment centered around New Hampshire Division of Economic Development Business Development Manager Michael Bergeron and the Division’s efforts to make the state an attractive business destination for businesses locally, regionally and globally.
UNTHA shredding technology America Inc., an Austrian-based manufacturer of industrial shredding equipment, has relocated from Newburyport, MA to Hampton, NH. The company hosted an open house on October 18, 2011 to demonstrate its cutting edge shredding machines.
UNTHA President and CEO for U.S. Operations Berhard Mueggler (l.) stands with New Hampshire Division of Economic Development Business Development Manager Michael Bergeron at the company’s recent open house.
“UNTHA is another great example of a family owned high-tech company that has found New Hampshire to be a lower cost state to operate a business,” said New Hampshire Division of Economic Development Business Development Manager Michael Bergeron, who assisted the company with its relocation.
“By relocating to New Hampshire, I expect to cut my operational costs by up to 10 percent annually,” said UNTHA President and CEO for U.S. Operations Berhard Mueggler. “We also have a great location—Hampton is close to Interstate 95 with easy access to the Boston metropolitan area and the rest of New England.”
UNTHA America currently employs six people and has plans to double its size in the next two years. Headquartered near Salzburg, Austria, UNTHA manufactures industrial machines to shred everything from wood and electronic scrap to production and municipal waste. For more information on UNTHA’s products, call their New Hampshire office at 603-601-2304.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has designated the New Hampshire EB-5 Regional Center, LLC as an approved regional center under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program for the towns of Andover, Hill, Danbury, Wilmot, New London, Sutton and Newbury. This designation will enable the New Hampshire EB-5 Regional Center to solicit investments in approved Capital Investment Projects by non-U.S. citizens at a minimum of $500,000 each, which investment must be used to spur job creation.
Along with the regional center designation, USCIS designated the Pacific Group’s Ragged Mountain Resort Project in Danbury, New Hampshire, as an approved Capital Investment Project. Ragged Mountain Resort is expected to raise at least $35 million in new investment through the EB-5 program to renovate, expand, develop and operate the ski resort, creating at least 700 new jobs.
“We have one of the fastest growing economies in the United States and our workforce ranks among the best educated in the nation, which makes New Hampshire attractive to investors. This designation creates even more opportunities to invest in New Hampshire and its people. It will help expand and strengthen one of our great skiing destinations, Ragged Mountain Resort, and help create jobs,” Gov. John Lynch said.
“We are confident that once prospective immigrant investors learn about Ragged Mountain Resort and its approved Capital Investment Project, they will be excited about the opportunity,” added David Strong, President of the New Hampshire EB-5 Regional Center and Manager of the Pacific Group. “Our experienced leadership and development team, including the Regional Center’s founder, the Pacific Group, make Ragged Mountain a project that prospective EB-5 investors can trust to provide the jobs and return they expect.”
The Pacific Group has been responsible for billions of dollars in commercial real estate development and construction of resort properties. Its management, affiliates and partners have constructed more than 1,000 projects throughout North America, including Empire Pass at Deer Valley, Utah; Copper Mountain Village, Colorado; Wolf Creek Ranch, Utah; Village at Squaw Creek, Lake Tahoe, CA; Village at Mammoth, CA; and Ritz Carlton North Shore, Vancouver, Canada.
George Bald, Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development, said, “We congratulate the New Hampshire EB-5 Regional Center and the Pacific Group on their efforts, which have led to obtaining this important designation. Once the investment is secured, Ragged Mountain should be on its way to becoming one of the premier four-season resorts in the East.” Michael Bergeron of the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development provided guidance and assistance throughout the application process.
EB-5: Investment + Immigration
The EB-5 program was created by Congress in 1990 as a way to attract foreign entrepreneurs to invest in U.S. businesses in exchange for immigrant visas. By investing either $500,000 or $1,000,000 in a new or troubled business and by creating a minimum of 10 jobs for U.S. workers, an alien investor can obtain green cards for himself and his immediate family. 10,000 immigrant visas are allocated through the EB-5 program annually, but these have been greatly underutilized in the past. The category has been growing in popularity. In 2008 just 1,443 visas were obtained, which surged to 4,218 visas obtained in 2009, but the number decreased in 2010 to 1,885. In both 2009 and 2010, the greatest numbers of EB-5 visas were issued to investors from China, South Korea, Great Britain/Northern Ireland and Taiwan.
There are two ways for an alien investor to obtain lawful permanent resident status under the EB-5 category: through the Basic Program or the Regional Center Pilot Program.
While the Basic Program requires investment in a commercial enterprise located anywhere within the U.S., the Regional Center Program requires investment in a regional-center-affiliated, new commercial enterprise or a troubled business within a designated regional center. (Regional Centers are USCIS-designated geographical locations defined as economic units, public or private, involved with the promotion of economic growth, improved regional productivity, job creation, and increased domestic capital investment.) The Basic Program requires that the aliens’ investment directly create 10 new full-time jobs, whereas this requirement in Regional Center Program may be satisfied by indirectly created job opportunities to the local job market due to the investment. Most of the EB-5 visas in the past year were issued through Regional Center Programs, such as the New Hampshire EB-5 Regional Center and the Ragged Mountain Resort Project.
For more information on the New Hampshire EB-5 Regional Center, visit www.NewHampshireRegionalCenter.com or call 603-768-5700. For more on creative funding opportunities and other business assistance, contact the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development at 603-271-2591.
SustainX, a clean-tech company that is changing the way that air energy is stored, has relocated from its Lebanon, New Hampshire facility to a larger, 42,000 square foot building on 72 Stard Road in Seabrook, New Hampshire.
SustainX was founded in 2007 by engineers from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College. The company currently employs 24 people and plans to continue hiring over the next six months. Its patented technology stores utility-scale electrical energy in the form of compressed gas air allowing it to be regenerated on demand.
“This company is another example of New Hampshire producing some of the best advanced design and manufacturing companies in the world,” said Michael Bergeron, Business Development Manager for the NH Division of Economic Development. Bergeron assisted the company in its statewide search for new space and ERZ tax credits. “SustainX had also considered moving to Massachusetts but found New Hampshire to be a much better option both short term and long term,” he said.
“The Seabrook building is a perfect fit and location and New Hampshire is a good place to grow our company,” said Dax Kepshire, co-founder and Vice President of SustainX.
Thomas Zarrella, SustainX President, CEO and Director added, “Seabrook also allows us to attract labor from Boston as well as southern New Hampshire.” Zarrella, the former president of GT Solar, was hired last spring to lead the company as it continues to grow in New Hampshire.
The three-year-old company is on track to demonstrate its first one-megawatt, grid-connected system in collaboration with AES Energy Storage, LLC under an award from the Energy Storage Program at the U.S. Department of Energy.
Less than an hour from Boston, Enterasys will occupy approximately 190,000 square feet in Salem with construction on the space beginning in April, 2012 and occupancy by January 2013. The company also has plans to hire about 80 new employees once they are in New Hampshire.
New Hampshire Division of Economic Development Business Development Manager Michael Bergeron assisted Shelburne in evaluating the benefits of staying and growing in New Hampshire and connected them with NH Business Finance Authority (BFA) Director Jack Donovan. The BFA provided a $750,000 energy efficiency loan for the purchase of new capital equipment.
Along with the regional center designation, USCIS designated the Pacific Group’s Ragged Mountain Resort Project in Danbury, New Hampshire, as an approved Capital Investment Project. Ragged Mountain Resort is expected to raise at least $35 million in new investment through the EB-5 program to renovate, expand, develop and operate the ski resort, creating at least 700 new jobs. 
SustainX was founded in 2007 by engineers from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College. The company currently employs 24 people and plans to continue hiring over the next six months. Its patented technology stores utility-scale electrical energy in the form of compressed gas air allowing it to be regenerated on demand.