[R]evision Military, a global company with 300 employees and provisional headquarters in Vermont, has selected Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for its official U.S. headquarters.
“Revision Military was the first company I met with after being elected Governor, and today’s announcement is a testament to our pro-growth, pro-jobs agenda,” said New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu in a statement issued Thursday.
Originally founded in 2001 to produce eyewear for the military, Revision has become a worldwide leader in manufacturing protective military and law enforcement gear, from helmets to goggles.
Facilities in Essex Junction and Newport provide mostly manufacturing jobs, but also employ engineers, marketing professionals and financial experts, according to Revision’s communications director, Kelly Krayewsky.
Krayewsky stressed in an interview Friday that no jobs would be lost in Vermont, though the Essex Junction location will no longer serve as the company’s “operational” headquarters.
Krayewsky said New Hampshire provides some benefits to Revision that Vermont could not offer. Portsmouth’s proximity to Boston offers a larger and stronger applicant pool and greater ease of access for clients flying in, she said.
Krayewsky added that Pease International Tradeport, site of Revision’s future headquarters, is already home to a cluster of military technology businesses.
“We do struggle to fill certain jobs in Vermont,” she said, citing product design and engineering jobs as examples.
Revision is not the only company that has cited workforce recruitment as a challenge of doing business in Vermont. The Vermont Futures Project’s economic dashboard grades workforce and talent as “weak” in Vermont.
“While it’s difficult to identify a specific data point for why workforce-age people emigrate, there is a perception of less opportunity in Vermont than other places,” the Vermont Futures Project says on its website.
Sarah Buxton, director of workforce policy and performance at the Vermont Department of Labor, said the state needs to address the dual challenges of labor force โ the number of workers available โ and workforce โ their skill level and training programs.
“The story of (Revision) having to make hard decisions like that is one we fear is going to happen more unless we attend to the labor force issue for the state,” Buxton said.
She said the Scott administration has been trying to attract out-of-state workers to Vermont with a personalized Department of Labor relocation program. It would connect prospective Vermonters with employers and communities to which they may want to move.
Buxton added that the Legislature approved a $400,000 equipment training grant this session for adult technical education centers to be able to better train workers in skills desired by Vermont employers.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, long-time supporter of Revision’s Vermont presence, helped the Newport location secure a $98 million contract in 2017 to manufacture lightweight helmets.
โRevision currently is expanding its presence in Vermont and researching the next generation of protective equipment technologies,” said Leahy in an email on Friday. “My office has been in touch with Revision, and Iโm confident that they will continue to be a great Vermont employer that is active in our community.โ
