[R]ANDOLPH — Gov. Phil Scott drove the excavator and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., made a pun — only one — as state, regional and local partners participated in a ceremonial groundbreaking of the future headquarters of LEDdynamics, the Randolph-based manufacturer of light emitting diode, or LED, products.
Actual construction of the company’s new $5 million headquarters is scheduled to begin in about three weeks, and is expected to be completed by spring 2019. With its expansion into the new 27,600-square-foot facility, LEDdynamics will be adding about 40 jobs, for a total workforce of about 100.
“Homegrown businesses and entrepreneurs are the engine of Vermont’s economy, creating jobs and helping create more opportunity for Vermonters,” Scott said, thanking company founder Bill McGrath and his team “for their commitment to Vermont” and “all our state and federal partners that helped make this project possible.”
“Vermont’s economic future will be determined by our ability to work together to help existing Vermont businesses grow and thrive here,” Leahy said.
“Vermont stays bright — that’ll be my only pun,” he said, “because of companies like LEDdynamics.”
McGrath, an alumus of Vermont Technical College and a former professor of electrical and mechanical engineering, founded LEDdynamics in 2000, in Rochester. The company moved to Randolph in 2004.
LEDdynamics is dedicated to expanding the uses of efficient LED lighting. The company developed the EverLED — the first, and still the only universal replacement bulb for LED flashlights.
The expansion project is supported by $1.5 million in state and federal funding assistance, including a $1 million Community Development Block Grant to the town of Randolph. The federal funds will be put toward the purchase of the 6.7 acre property by the Green Mountain Economic Development Corp. and the construction of the new facility, which will be leased by LEDdynamics.
Leahy is a longtime champion of the block grant program, and fought successfully to protect it from being eliminated in the most recent federal spending package.
The project also has received $3.8 million in loan financing via the Vermont Economic Development Authority.
