Governor Donald L. Carcieri announced today in a press release that Brown & Sharpe, one of Rhode Island’s long-standing manufacturing companies, will retain its R.I. presence and relocate to the Quonset Davisville Port & Commerce Park. Brown & Sharpe had been giving strong consideration to moving closer to its primary customer base in the Midwest.
Under the agreement, RIEDC will build a new facility at Quonset using moral obligation bonds, and lease the facility back to the company for a 10-year period for the cost of the debt service. The 100,000 square foot facility will be designed to allow for expansion, and will be sited on a 14-acre parcel in the Keifer Park section of Quonset. The proposal was approved by Hexagon’s board of directors at a meeting on Oct. 31. The agreement will come before the Quonset Davisville Management Corporation (QDMC) and RIEDC boards for approval at their upcoming meetings this month. The agreement will also be subject to General Assembly approval of the bond financing.
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“My administration learned of these (relocation) plans and took swift and immediate action and began working with Bill Gruber and his team to forge an agreement to ensure that Brown and Sharpe remains in our state,” stated Governor Carcieri at a meeting of Brown & Sharpe employees at their current facility in North Kingstown.
Brown & Sharpe currently employs about 465 in the United States, and 270 in Rhode Island. The company provides metrology systems, services, and software to industrial clients in the aerospace, automotive and affiliated industries. The company was established in Providence in what is now part of The Foundry complex. Brown & Sharpe moved to a facility on Frenchtown Road in North Kingstown approximately 40 years ago. Just over two years ago, Swedish firm Hexagon AB acquired the company.
