PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Economic Development Corporation said it helped create or retain at least 4,686 local jobs in its fiscal 2011 performance report.
The agency worked with about 2,856 firms from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011, providing technical support, access to capital, work force development, and expansion and relocation assistance, it said.
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“Our fiscal 2011 report shows that despite significant economic and fiscal challenges, the R.I. EDC continues to deliver tangible results in retaining and creat[ing] jobs, and helping companies succeed in Rhode Island,” said Executive Director Keith W. Stokes.
“Much work remains to be done in critical areas, including access to capital for small businesses, streamlining the permitting process, urban revitalization, and business cultivation and attraction,” Stokes added.
The EDC said it helped local companies invest more than $162 million in new capital projects.
It also highlighted four “success stories” in its preliminary annual reprot including:
- 38 Studios LLC relocated its video game business from Maynard, Mass., to Providence. The company created 250 new jobs in fiscal 2011 and has committed to creating a total of 450 jobs.
- Hasbro Inc. expanded its business into Providence’s Knowledge District. It is expected to create 141 new jobs in fiscal 2011 and up to 284 new jobs within three years.
- Yardney Technical Products Inc. relocated from Connecticut to East Greenwich, adding 150 new jobs to the state economy, with the potential to add up to 165 total new jobs within three years.
- A Dartmouth ambulance company expanded into Newport after the Office of Regulatory Reform helped the company navigate the permitting, licensing and approval process. It created four new jobs and is looking to expand to South County and Kent County.
The state’s tax incentives programs – Project Status, State Enterprise Zone, and Innovation Tax Credit – helped create 918 full-time jobs, the EDC said.
The agency also highlighted its work providing companies with financing:
- Small Business Loan Fund – nine loans totaling $1.37 million which are expected to help create or retain 257 jobs.
- R.I. Industrial Facilities Corporation and the R.I. Industrial/Recreational Building Authority – $14.5 million bonds issued or insured which are expected to help create or retain 527 jobs.
- Job Creation Guaranty Program – The EDC guaranteed and issued a $75 million bond for 38 Studios.
- Renewable Energy Fund – $1.89 million in grants to 13 energy sectors, supporting more than $4 million in total development activity locally.
The Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council within the EDC invested nearly $6.5 million in grants to 38 teams, representing 97 researchers from 35 public and private institutions. Those teams, the EDC said, have attracted nearly $10 million in follow-on funding from public and private sources.
