The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) Board of Directors has approved funding for corporate citizens designed to assist them prosper operationally and grow their workforces.Specifically, the Board gave Toray Plastics (America), Inc. a $750,000 grant through the RIEDC's Renewable Energy Fund (REF) plus $250,000 in federal stimulus funding through the Rhode Island Business Energy Assistance Program (BEAP).These grant monies will support the firm's plan to install a 375KW solar energy project at its Quonset Point facility in North Kingstown (and increase its energy efficiency). The combined $1 million in REF and BEAP renewable energy funding for Toray, which employs about 600 Rhode Island workers, is a revision of a previously approved $250,000 grant and a $500,000 loan from the REF for the company's solar energy project.

Toray expects to expand its operations with another $11 million investment that includes the creation of 30 new jobs. It also is contemplating a future business and real estate expansion project investment of nearly $200 million that could create 200 new jobs.

NuLabel has developed a new, low-cost self-adhesive label technology that replaces traditional label liners . Through the RIEDC's Job Creation Guaranty Program, the Board gave the firm $1.5 million in loan guarantees to allow the company access to the private capital needed to gain market share in the $25 billion label industry. Currently employing 10 workers, the company plans to create 40 jobs in the Knowledge District in Providence within five years (average annual wages: over $74,000).

"Rhode Island is taking concrete steps to help businesses such as Toray, which employs approximately 600 Rhode Islanders, remain competitive through reduction in their utility costs and increased energy efficiency," said Governor Lincoln D. Chafee, who Chairs the RIEDC Board.

"Additionally, we are redesigning the Job Creation Guaranty Program to allow innovation- and technology-driven small businesses, such as NuLabel, to access the capital they need to succeed and bring quality new jobs to Rhode Island," he noted. "These two funds [REF and BEAP], when used strategically, can be valuable tools for businesses looking to expand or locate within Rhode Island."