PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Commerce Corp. board of directors on Monday approved three companies for Qualified Job incentives.
Two of the companies will be moving operations from outside the state to Rhode Island. Another will be expanding its workforce.
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The companies are Resh Inc., of Franklin, Mass., smartShift Technologies Inc., a Boston-based firm, and Response Technologies LLC of West Warwick.
Resh is a precision mechanical fabrication company founded in 1988 and has its facility in Franklin, in Norfolk County, Mass., off of Interstate 495. The company will relocate to Rhode Island. The company is expected to create 41 full-time jobs eligible for tax credits for up to approximately $735,000 over 10 years.
The jobs will include engineers, operating staff, management and administration. The median annual salary of credit-eligible jobs is projected to be $52,624. Employees are expected to be in place by 2022.
SmartShift is an information technology firm with a specialty in automation, and has operations in North America, Europe and Asia, as well as in downtown Boston. The company will relocate its headquarters from Boston to Rhode Island. It is expected to create 43 new full-time jobs that would qualify for tax credits of up to approximately $1.69 million over 10 years. Employees will include project managers, cloud engineers and executive management with a projected median annual salary of $134,450.
The employees are expected to be hired incrementally by 2023.
Response Technologies is a company that develops explosion resistant, crashworthy and self-sealing aircraft fuel tanks for the Department of Defense and commercial market. The company is currently leasing space in West Warwick but is aiming to expand to a larger space in Coventry. The business is expected to create 37 new full-time jobs, including a general manager, engineers and machinists. The company is eligible for up to roughly $675,000 over 10 years. The median salary of the new positions is expected to be $56,000.
“We are pleased to begin 2020 with news that three manufacturing and high-tech companies have chosen to land or expand in Rhode Island,” said Secretary of Commerce Stefan Pryor. “The number of jobs in Rhode Island is at an all-time high. These companies will add to our state’s growing workforce and expanding economy. The state’s Qualified Jobs tax credit program, introduced by Gov. [Gina M.] Raimondo and approved by the General Assembly, is a proven catalyst and we are grateful for the continued use of this key tool.”
Commerce said that the jobs created that are eligible for the incentive will result in an increase of $7.9 million in personal income tax once in place and add $19.3 million to state gross domestic product.
The Qualified Jobs Incentive Act is a state-funded incentive that provides employers with a credit based on how many positions are created that exceed the state’s median salary. The limit is up to $7,500 per job, annually, for up to 10 years. Companies only receive credits once the proposed jobs are in place and paying income taxes for one year.
Commerce RI also approved a $16,666 Network Matching Grant to the New England Medical Innovation Center to partially fund a business-development specialist for five months of work.
Correction: Response Technologies LLC is headquartered in West Warwick.
