G.W. Plastics in Bethel has accepted a grant from the state of Vermont to help cover the capital costs of building a 21,000-square-foot expansion near Royalton.
Gov. Peter Shumlin and the company announced Tuesday morning that the manufacturer would accept $500,000 that the Legislature’s Emergency Board voted 3-1 to allocate at a special meeting in October.
The administration estimates that the expansion will create 70 jobs in the injection molding industry. The money would accompany G.W. Plastics’ $10 million investment in real estate and equipment over the next three to five years, the administration says.
“This is exactly why we created the Enterprise Fund, to allow the state to move quickly and seize opportunities for continued job growth,” Shumlin said in a news release. “I want to thank GW Plastics for continuing to grow their business in the best state in America.”
The $2.5 million Enterprise Fund is down to $1.6 million following 2014 budget rescissions, 2015 appropriations, and the $500,000 grant to G.W. Plastics. Another $200,000 has been offered to an unnamed Canadian company.
The governor has the legal authority to give money from the fund — with approval from the Emergency Board — to companies that may close or leave the state; to companies considering acquiring a company in Vermont; or to companies considering relocating or expanding in Vermont.
G.W. Plastics said in April that the company was planning to build an expansion in Vermont, Arizona or Texas. The company has a “soft spot” for Vermont, but said there were few other incentives to build in the state, and most of their customers are not in Vermont.
In June, the company was approved for between $540,434 and $977,125 in state grants between 2015 and 2019. That money would come from the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive, which awards money after jobs are created, and companies must swear that the jobs would not exist without the VEGI money.
The company will also receive money from the Vermont Training Program, which pays companies to train their workers. Discussions about how much Vermont Training Program money to give the company will start next week, according to Pat Moulton, secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development.
“They have manufacturing operations in Texas and Arizona right now, and they easily could’ve put this expansion in either one of those states, and we’re thrilled that they have decided to expand in Vermont and specifically in Royalton,” Moulton said.
“I think this is another case where Vermont can be very competitive for business expansion, and we’ve shown that we can put together a package that can help these companies stay and grow jobs right here,” she said.
