Granite Forge LLC, a contract manufacturer of medical devices, is opening its first operation in Hudson, where it plans to hire 25 employees.
Michael Bergeron, business development manager with the Department of Business and Economic Affairs, assisted in Granite Forge in choosing New Hampshire as its location.
Granite Forge, which forges and machines implants for total joint replacement (hips, knees, shoulders), trauma surgery, and extremities such as wrists and ankles, will be a supplier to major orthopedic implant companies in domestic and international markets.
“We have invested significantly in the latest technology in order to provide the highest quality products and service to our customers,” said Chief Commercial Officer Pat O’Neill.
“We decided to locate in New Hampshire, near the Massachusetts border, because of the available talent in both states, the proximity to critical suppliers and contractors, and the financial freedom that low tax New Hampshire offers,” said Mel Speidel, chief operating officer and general manager for the Hudson facility.
The new facility is, said President/CEO Greg Davis, a state of the art, 24,000-square-foot plant equipped with the latest machining, finishing and inspection equipment.
“We are looking for experienced CNC machinists, metal finishers, quality inspectors, and press operators,” Davis said. “We are also hoping to partner with local educators to help train and develop the next generation.”
Gary Stavrum, a partner and investor in Granite Forge, sees growing global demand for high quality forged orthopedic implants, and recognizes a need for additional contract manufacturers to support the growth of this market.
Pierre Harvey, Harvey International, left; Steve Malenfant, founder and CEO, Inter USA Industrial Group
A Quebec businessman chose northern New Hampshire to launch his new company, which he expects to grow over the next few years to include up to 50 employees.
Steve Malenfant, CEO and founder of Groupe Industriel Interprovincial Inc. of Magog, QC, led the ribbon cutting ceremony on Sept. 26 for his new venture, Inter USA Industrial Group, in Littleton.
The company offers a service, providing teams trained for industrial equipment installation, planned machine maintenance, relocation, re-shoring and outage/shutdown services to a variety of industries such as pulp and paper; wood processing; rubber and plastics; steel and metal; food processing, and more.
The company’s success is based on its mission of helping clients and the guiding principle of building the trust that is essential between the client’s inhouse teams and the teams from Inter USA. Inter-USA’s employees go through a thorough technical program before working on job sites, Malenfont said, “to make sure our employees are the best millwrights available and that they are skilled at developing strong relationships with our client’s inhouse teams.
Ribbon cutting of Inter USA Industrial Group in Littleton.
Founded in 2003, its Quebec counterpart employs more than 140 employees and the long term plan for the new US-based company is to hire and train between 25 and 50 employees in Littleton, most of them millwrights, engineering technicians and welders.
“We chose northern New Hampshire because we know that labor is available and because of the close proximity to sawmills, pulp and paper, steel and metal fabricators,” Malenfant said. “We will hire locally and pair the US employees with experienced Quebec millwrights from our head office until they are trained and have integrated the Inter USA business model. We will train them so that they can take over and start doing jobs quickly in New England.”
Beno Lamontagne and Michael Bergeron of the Department of Business and Economic Affairs first connected with the company at a dinner in Quebec hosted by the Division of Economic Development several years ago. Over that time, they worked with Malenfant to help him with his real estate search, obtaining visas, the hiring process and business incorporation.
New Hampshire Economic Development was able to tout its open for business sign last month to manufacturers and business owners from around the world at two trade shows – MD&M East in New York City, targeting medical device and manufacturing interests, and the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, DC, focusing on foreign direct investment.
Joined by colleagues Michael Bergeron, senior business development manager, at MD&M and Tina Kasim, program manager at our Office of International Commerce, at SelectUSA, I met with scores of people at both trade shows keen on hearing our message about the state’s business friendly climate, educated workforce, robust industry sectors and quality of life. A great opportunity to not only answer their questions, but to ask some of our own, encourage a visit and follow-up with information they need, such as available real estate.
Trade shows are a dynamic, if not efficient, way, to meet and have conversations with business leaders who are considering business expansion or relocation. Often, conversations plant the seeds for long term relationships for future growth opportunities. Followup is the key to our work at these events, keeping in touch with contacts so that when they are ready to further explore options, they will consider New Hampshire.
At MD&M, where we also met with attendees at simultaneous trade shows at the Javits Center for plastics, packaging and design manufacturing, some of the people with whom we spoke were focused on seeking manufacturers, suppliers and services contacts to develop relationships. Some were pleasantly surprised to see New Hampshire represented at the event and asked about our industry sectors.
At the SelectUSA show, we spoke with international investors and business owners exploring oportunities within the US, including locations for distribution and warehousing and investing in established companies, especially in the fields of bio-med and medical device manufacturing with an established workforce. We also met with foreign officials and consultants representing companies seeking to establish relationships with businesses in the US for distribution, investment and partnering.
Our message at these trade shows is New Hampshire’s business friendly climate. When we tell people we have no sales, personal income, estate, use, internet, capital gains or professional service taxes, they are surprised and intrigued – what we don’t have is definitely a conversation starter.
For others, it is our booth that draws them over to talk with us. Featuring a stunning lakeside image, it prompts people to take a time out from the busy show. They stare at the lake and share with us memories of going to camp here in the summer, family vacations and even business trips.
When decision makers can’t come to New Hampshire, trade shows are a great way to bring New Hampshire to them.
New Hampshire Economic Development at Montreal, 10/4/2016
The New Hampshire Division of Economic Development hosted more than two dozen representatives of Quebec-based businesses lastTuesday evening for a presentation in Montreal about the advantages of expanding their operations to the Granite State.
The dinner marked the first time in over four years the division has had funding to conduct a business recruitment event. In all, 27 executives from 19 companies representing aerospace and defense, transportation, IT, and other advanced manufacturing operations, attended.
“Quebec has always played a key role in New Hampshire’s economy, from our historic mills to our North Country,” said Jeffrey Rose, commissioner of the Department of Resources and Economic Development. “The benefits for Canadian companies, especially manufacturers, to consider expansion to New Hampshire are significant. From our shared border, business friendly climate and skilled workforce, the Granite State is a very favorable location.”
The presentation, conducted primarily in French by business resource specialist Beno Lamontagne, included testimonials by Marie-Josee Vaillant, president of KHEOPS International in Colebrook, and Benoit Frappier, president of Ben-Mor in Hinsdale, who have expanded their Quebec-based businesses to New Hampshire in recent years.
As a result of the presentation, two companies plan to visit northern New Hampshire in the near future to learn more.
“Business recruitment efforts play an important role in economic development,” Rose said. “Companies expanding or relocating to the state create – jobs, complement existing manufacturers who need their suppliers nearby and diversify our economy. We’re pleased that our budget now includes funding to conduct this kind of activity outside of New Hampshire.”
The state’s lack of sales, income, use, estate, inventory and capital gains taxes; examples of available commercial and industrial real estate and quality of life were highlighted during the presentation.
The Division of Economic Development, part of the New Hampshire Department for Resources and Economic Development, is the single point of contact for New Hampshire businesses needing assistance and resources to grow and thrive, as well as for out-of-state companies looking to expand or relocate in the state. For more information, visit nheconomy.com.
Lorna Colquhoun
Communications Director
Division of Economic Development
Michael Bergeron, senior business development manager
Every day, our business development managers, Michael Bergeron and Cynthia Harrington, speak with site selectors and business owners from around the country searching for the right place to expand or relocate their companies. Their reasons are varied – some may have a deep affinity for the Granite State, while others are drawn to our business friendly climate and educated workforce. Michael talks about the process involved in the expansion/relocation of a company.
1. Business recruitment is an important part of economic development, as it facilitates job creation, encourages growth and diversifies the New Hampshire economy. What’s a typical day like in the life of business development?
We are a sales office for the state, so the priority every day is increasing our pipeline of qualified leads and once we have a strong lead on an interested company, we work with it, confidentially helping the company locate or expand in the state. We market each region of the state differently, based on the region’s strength and assets.
Each part of the sales cycle requires different needs, ranging from cold calls, research, writing proposals comparing New Hampshire with other states, making presentations to decision makers, facilitating meetings with other agencies such as the governor’s office, the Department of Environmental Services and the Department of Transportation; working with the University System of New Hampshire; the NH Business Finance Authority, the NH Community Development Finance Authority; contacting municipal officials; providing real estate tours and working on any issues that the company needs help with in ultimately choosing New Hampshire in which to expand or relocate.
We also work closely with local and regional economic development groups that are important in closing the sale. For example, I recently referred a company from Massachusetts to Jack Donovan of the NH Business Finance Authority, who was able to turn around an industrial bond loan within 40 days—a critical factor in landing the company in Hudson.
2. You’ve been a part of hundreds of business relocations and expansions in your tenure here at the Division of Economic Development. What is is about New Hampshire that draws companies here?
Currently in this market, the number one issue is the availability of skilled employees, followed by cost of occupancy and available office or industrial real estate. If any one one of these factors are missing, the transaction dies. If the company is a family-owned business, the decision is often affected by where its president lives, or wants to live.
And that decision by the owner, and his/her spouse, is predicated on a region with excellent schools, low crime, quality healthcare, cultural options, open space, easy access to major metro areas. Sometimes I have seen decision makers expand to New Hampshire because they have a summer home here.
If it’s a large national company looking for a branch location, then management wants to be close to Boston or Quebec and be confident it can hire managers, and lower the cost of occupancy, compared to the higher rents in the Boston market.
3. Earlier this year, the division unveiled its strategic plan, which identified a number of key industries. How is this helping business development?
The key industries’ clusters in New Hampshire can help attract similar companies that want to be part of the same cluster. For example, we have a growing aerospace cluster and bio/medical device cluster in New Hampshire. When we are on the road at trade shows, we show decision makers where these clusters are located, talk about the educational system that supports these clusters, and how we can help them locate employees and real estate. We understand the kinds of buildings needed for these uses and we can show where to find a good match for employees.
4. NH Economy is back on the road and will attend several trade shows this year. Can you tell us why it’s important to have a presence at them?
It is a myth that attending trade show provides instant leads; rather, it is a higher form of advertising, where we meet people face to face and develop business relationships over time. Finding the right venues and consistently attending is the key obtaining qualified leads. For example, I may meet site consultants at a show, but I may not work with them for another five years, after I develop trust and when an opportunity arises, they think of New Hampshire.
5. You speak with hundreds of companies every year that are considering relocation or expansion. Why is New Hampshire on their list of possibilities?
If they are companies from Massachusetts, Maine, or Vermont, they are looking to retain their current labor force in those states, and also find new employees, by staying within 30 to 50 miles of their current locations. If they are from outside New England, they are looking at New Hampshire because of our lower taxes, skilled work force, easy access to interstate highways and regional and international airports, and business friendly climate.
If it’s a large company, incentives are usually part of the evaluation. In these circumstances, New Hampshire competes with states like South Carolina, Texas, and Florida.
Our name – the Division of Economic Development – is also our mission. We work with businesses across the state, helping them grow, expand, adjust, innovate and prosper.
Idea Exchange
We could not do our job without the wisdom, experience, insight and guidance of our Economic Development Advisory Council. Established some years ago, the council assists us in planning and measuring our efforts. With 22 members from across all sectors of business and industry, their counsel is invaluable.
The quarterly EDAC meeting was held this morning. Attendance was robust and so were the reports from our membership. The consensus is that while the New Hampshire economy was not without some hardships in the recession, it weathered the challenges of the past few years much better than other states.
We apprised our council of what’s happening in our division and frankly, it’s exciting. Business recruitment and retention efforts are paying dividends. Our Office of International Commerce is reaching out around the globe for opportunities for New Hampshire companies. New ways to use social media, this blog and even the old fashioned methods of dissemination are spreading the word about the good things that are happening in the New Hampshire economy.
As sure as the purple lilacs will bloom in another couple of weeks, so is the Granite State economy.