Governor, Commerce Secretary and??Elected Officials Celebrate Progress??on Finlays New Facility
??
(Left to right) Town Council President Richard Welch, Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor; Governor Gina Raimondo; Steve Olyha, CEO of Finlays and Steven King, Managing Director of the??QDC sign the final beam for Finlays New Facility
Governor Gina Raimondo joined elected officials and business leaders attend event celebrating the completion of the steel framing of Finlays’ new global research and development center at Quonset Business Park.
Founded in 1750, Finlays is a global leader in the development and distribution of tea and coffee extracts. The highlight of the event was state and local officials ceremonially signing one of the final steel beams of the 28,800 square-foot global research and development facility and pilot plant.
The project will be completed in two phases with the second phase consisting of construction of a 65,000 square-foot full-scale manufacturing and distribution plant.
The creation of the new Finlays facility represents an investment of approximately $54.3 million.
“This new facility will bring Finlays products to market, but will also bring good, family-supporting jobs to Rhode Island,” Governor Raimondo said. “Because of our hard work reinvesting in our manufacturing industries and supporting high-skill, high-wage opportunities for our residents, global leaders like Finlays want to be here and create jobs. I’m thrilled to see another business building here in Rhode Island.”
The full project is anticipated to add 73 full-time jobs and increase the state’s GDP by $15.3 million. The company states that it will commit to maintaining the new jobs in Rhode Island for over 10 years. In planting their flag in North Kingstown one draw for Finlays was Quonset’s innovative site-readiness program which allows businesses to begin construction within 90 days of taking site control.
“This significant investment in our infrastructure will enhance our ability to bring world class solutions and innovative ideas to market. As we continue to grow our leadership position in the industry, we are proud to be doing it here in Rhode Island, a state that shares our values and promotes our ambitions.” stated Steve Olyha, CEO of Finlay USA.