St. Johnsbury Development

This corporation was organized in 1956 for the purpose of promoting and increasing the general welfare of the inhabitants of the Town of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, and of neighboring towns, by endeavoring to induce industrial, recreational, agricultural and other enterprises to locate or remain in said towns; by providing financial and other aid or assistance to such enterprises; by furthering and promoting the general business interests of said towns, improving, extending and placing upon a safe and more permanent foundation the business and manufacturing interests of said towns, and by holding such real and personal property as may be necessary or convenient for such purposes.

Current Officers

Jerry S. Rowe, President

Peter F. Crosby, 1st Vice-President
Peter J. Murphy, 2nd Vice President
A. Richard Boera, Secretary-Treasurer

One of our success stories...the acquisition of a building for lease to

ENGINEERED THERMAL SYSTEMS

on Route 5, between St. Johnsbury and Lyndonville, Vermont

LYDALL ACQUIRES ENGINEERED THERMAL SYSTEMS, INC.MANCHESTER, CT - April 21, 1998....Leonard R. Jaskol, Chairman and CEO of Lydall, Inc., today announced that the Company acquired for cash Engineered Thermal Systems, Inc. (ETSI), a producer of automotive thermal and acoustical components. Located in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, ETSI currently has 96 employees and had sales approaching $12 million in 1997. This acquisition, which will operate as the St. Johnsbury Operation ofLydall Westex, complements the Company's extensive automotive thermal barrier business. (Aminta Conant is the Operations Manager of the local Lydall Westex facility.)

Y2K UPDATE The Development Fund recently undertook a $4.2M expansion project for Lydall, building an 86,000 sq.ft. facility on a 17-acre site just across the river from the existing plant. At groundbreaking ceremonies for the new building held on November 8, 1999, Governor Howard Dean assists Fund President Jerry Rowe in the shoveling duties while Williston general contractor Don Wells supervises the official first digs......

The Grand Opening for the new plant of the (now-renamed) Lydall Thermal/Acoustical Group took place on August 8, 2000 with Governor Dean and Development Fund President Rowe as honored guests. Lydall President Chris Skomorowski journeyed up from the home office in Manchester, Connecticut, to tour the multi-story manufacturing area and contemporary office space and to speak at the event. According to Operations Manager Aminta Conant, the expansion has already created about 25 more jobs...bringing the employment total to 150...and the company expects to hire about 20 more people over the next two years......

The former ETSi building , once EHV-Weidmann's Fab East facility, is now being leased by North East Precision, Inc. Company president Bruce Benoit has plans for growth over the next five years. His company currently employs about 50 people. The new quarters provide twice as much space as the Fairbanks site......

In September (2000), New England Composites exercised its early termination lease option on the Development Fund's facility in the St.Johnsbury-Lyndon Industrial Park. NSA Industries,Inc., already established in the Industrial Park with a work force of 300, took advantage of the opportunity to "spread out" and signed a lease with the Development Fund effective the day that the Canadian-based firm vacated the premises. NSA's founder and president,Neal Austin, was the Northeast Kingdom Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year 2000! His company is a manufacturer of sheet metal......

The St. Johnsbury Development Fund was the recipient of a $3,500 grant awarded by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston Community Development program.The Fund was nominated for its involvement with the Lydall Thermal/Acoustical Group (formerly Lydall Westex) building expansion project in St. Johnsbury. The FHLBB award was accepted by President Jerry Rowe at the New England Community Development Conference held in Boston in November......

For further information about the Fund, send e-mail to boerad@sover.net