R.I. Commerce offers up to $12,500 grants for manufacturing equipment
Rhode Island Commerce is accepting applications through March 24 from local manufacturing companies eligible to receive grants equal to half the $25,000 cost of capital equipment.
Rhode Island manufacturers can get reimbursement for up to half the cost of new capital equipment or machinery under a new state program unveiled Thursday.
The Manufacturing Equipment Grant Program administered by Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, offers grants reimbursing local manufacturing companies for up to 50% of the costs of new equipment, capped at $12,500 per applicant based on a $25,000 maximum equipment or machinery price.
Applications are available online now, with grants awarded based on scores set by a review committee of Commerce employees and industry partners, Matt Touchette, a Commerce spokesperson, said in an email Friday. The program is funded through a $500,000 allocation of general revenue included in the state's fiscal 2025 budget, Touchette said.
Recipients must be Rhode Island-based manufacturing companies established on or before Jan. 1, 2021, with 50 or fewer employees and gross receipts less than $5 million in 2023.
The program aims to help the state's manufacturing sector remain competitive, recognizing feedback and concerns of local business owners, Rhode Island Commerce Secretary Liz Tanner said in a statement.
'By easing the financial burden of modernization, we are empowering businesses to be competitive, efficient, and innovative — all things that help drive economic growth,' Tanner said.
The state's manufacturing sector was responsible for 40,900 jobs in December, a 600-job increase from the prior year, according to the latest monthly jobs report from the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training.
Applications close on Monday, March 24.
Correction: The headline on this story has been updated to reflect that grants of up to $12,500 may be awarded through the program.
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