State has buyer for Alpha-Beta facility
SMITHFIELD — The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation has reached an agreement in principle to sell the former Alpha-Beta Technology Inc., property in Smithfield to Collaborative Group Ltd., of Long Island, New York, a drug and cosmetics manufacturing company. The Collaborative Group, which is privately held, has agreed to pay $20 million for the facility. The company expects to begin manufacturing in the plant by mid-summer. The Collaborative Group is expected to employ 54 skilled workers, initially, and plans to expand production capacity and increase employment to 150 jobs over the next five years. Average wages at the company are expected to be $62,000 per year. The parties are expected to finalize the terms of the sale by the end of next week.
Almond proposes aid for special education
PROVIDENCE – Gov. Lincoln Almond and the Department of Secondary and Elementary Education announced last Monday a proposal to distribute $650,000 in federal funds from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to help cities and towns which face increasing costs in special education. The governor proposed that $150,000 be made available to each of the four collaborative regions in the state and $50,000 to Providence to enable teachers and educators to research and develop screening tools and teaching strategies for reading from kindergarten to the fourth grade. According to the Department of Secondary and Elementary Education about 80 percent of students found to need special education help have significant deficits in reading capacity.
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
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APC, Select Energy form link
WEST KINGSTON – An agreement between American Power Conversion and Select Energy will make more power available and increase computer viability for the residential, commercial and industrial marketplace in 11 northeastern states. The agreement enables Select, the unregulated energy and energy services affiliate of Northeast Utilities, to offer APC’s power protection products and services to its customers throughout the Northeast. The Select-APC service was made available immediately, the companies announced.
Textron acquires distributor
PROVIDENCE – Textron, Inc., has reported its acquisition of Flexalloy, based in Streetsboro, Ohio, a distributor and provider of vendor managed inventory for the North American fastener market. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Flexalloy will become part of Textron’s fastener operations in North America. With 10 more distribution centers throughout the United States as well as Canada and Mexico, Flexalloy serves the heavy truck, automotive, turf care, construction equipment and structural fabrication industries.
Portsmouth sailboat company bought
PORTSMOUTH – Escape Sailboat Co., a manufacturer of 7-foot and 13-foot sailboats for novices, has been bought by Johnson Worldwide Associates, a maker of outdoor, diving and fishing equipment, including motors and watercraft. Escape, a two-year-old company that only last month showed its first profit, had not been for sale, its owner, Peter Johnstone, said, but recognized its limitations as far as distribution capacity. Johnson offered that missing ingredient with its 1,800 dealers, compared with the 140 dealers Escape had been using. Terms of the sale were not disclosed, but Escape will continue to operate in Portsmouth where it employs 11 persons, Johnstone said.
Victoria jewelry buys Connecticut company
WARWICK – Victoria & Co., a jewelry manufacturer, has acquired The Napier Co. of Meriden, Conn. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.. Napier employs 350 in Meriden and will continue to operate there under its current management as a separate division of Victoria, the announcement said. Victoria, meanwhile, will add 50 to 100 employees over the next two years to support the acquisition, the company announced.
Municipalities deal could reduce energy costs
PROVIDENCE — City and town governments could get a $2.3 million cut in their electric bills under a deal worked out with a power company. The Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns announced the five-year contract with Select Energy, a subsidiary of Northeast Utilities of Berlin, Conn. The savings will depend on how many municipalities sign up and how much electricity they use. Estimated savings for the first year are $450,000, said Dan Beardsley, executive director of the league. Communities will have until late May to join the program. School departments, housing authorities and all branches of government are eligible.
Pharmacy bills defeated by House Committee
PROVIDENCE — Three bills in support of greater flexibility in the pharmacy market were roundly defeated despite support from hundreds of seniors and pharmacy employees besieging the Statehouse. The House Corporations Committee unanimously scuttled three bills that would have forced insurers to allow any pharmacy to fill prescriptions for their policyholders, so long as the pharmacies were willing to accept the insurance companies’ standard amounts of payment.
