Current News

Vermont Business Magazine It is getting easier to charge an electric vehicle in Chittenden County, thanks to a partnership between Essex Outlets and EuroWest Properties and Green Mountain Power. GMP is installing a new NRG EVgo Freedom Station for electric vehicles at the Essex Outlets, one of the first retail centers in Vermont to host one. Construction will begin September 8 and will be available soon after.

“This is part of our commitment announced in June to build a comprehensive fast charging network across the state, increasing Vermont’s energy independence and contributing to cleaner air and lower carbon emissions,” said Dorothy Schnure, GMP spokesperson. “We are so pleased to work with Essex Outlets to host this site where so many people shop and work. These chargers represent the best in fast charging technology and will help us to continue to deliver clean, cost-effective and reliable power.”

Vermont Business Magazine In conjunction with National Manufacturing Day/Month, several Vermont firms will have open houses: October 2, 2015, Maple Landmark Woodcraft will be hosting students, lawmaker(s), and community members for factory tours. This event is part of a nationwide effort to draw greater attention to the outstanding opportunities a career in manufacturing can provide as well as promote the pursuit of skills which lead to a long-term career that offers security and growth.

Vermont Business Magazine On September 1st, Vermont-based Pete’s RV Center officially assumed ownership of Van’s RV Center in South Windsor, Connecticut. Located just 20 minutes from Hartford, Van’s RV has served thousands of customers in Connecticut, southern New England, and New York since opening its doors in 1963. Looking to step out of day-to-day operations after 40-plus successful years, longtime Van’s owner Mark VanOstrand explained the acquisition as being well-timed and an excellent fit, “The acquisition of Van’s RV brings together two of New England’s longest established RV centers. I am excited to be working with Pete’s RV as we blend together the best

Vermont Business Magazine A collaboration of the City of Rutland, Rutland Redevelopment Authority, NeighborWorks of Western Vermont, and Project VISION announced a number of recently completed action steps representing significant progress towards the revitalization of a section of the City’s Northwest Neighborhood. The recent progress will be celebrated with a community block party on October 3. Progress has included the acquisition and demolition of several previously vacant and blighted structures and the acquisition of other less deteriorated property which will be renovated for future owner occupancy.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin and Agency of Human Services (AHS) Secretary Hal Cohen announced today that for the second time this year Vermont has received from the US Department of Agriculture a bonus for increased performance in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which offers nutrition assistance to eligible, low-income individuals and families. The bonus of $252,344 comes on top of a $293,000 bonus received in July.

The decision to award a performance bonus is based on a state’s Program Access Index (PAI) for calendar year 2014. The PAI uses Census data to calculate the number of SNAP participants by dividing the number of eligible people in the state by overall participation. Vermont’s calendar year 2014 PAI was 92.99 percent, one of the highest in the country.

Vermont Business Magazine divvi, a Vermont-made mobile app dedicated to transforming the consumer recommendation ecosystem, has a lead investor for its first public funding round. divvi elegantly captures the power of product recommendations from experts and trained sales associates. The app, available in the iTunes store, provides retailers with a way to bridge in-store retail experiences with online shopping. In doing so, divvi has solved a major pain point for retailers. Consumers often visit a retail store, try on an item, and then go buy it online. divvi allows a retail sales associate to send the customer a link to the product they are interested in buying. When the customer buys the product using divvi, everybody wins.

Vermont Business Magazine The Data & Analytics division of Black Knight Financial Services, Inc (NYSE: BKFS) has released its latest Home Price Index (HPI) report, based on July 2015 residential real estate transactions. Home prices continue to rise nationally. Even Vermont, which despite showing an increase in home sales in recent months has lagged in price, was up 0.7 percent from June, which ranks 6th in the nation. The Black Knight HPI combines the company's extensive property and loan-level databases to produce a repeat sales analysis of home prices as of their transaction dates every month for each of more than 18,500 U.S. ZIP codes. The Black Knight HPI represents the price of non-distressed sales by taking into account price discounts for REO and short sales.

Vermont Business Magazine At a special meeting held today, the shareholders of NUVO Bank & Trust Company of Springfield, MA, overwhelmingly voted to approve the merger agreement between NUVO and Merchants Bancshares, Inc (NASDAQ: MBVT), the parent company of South Burlington, Vermont-based Merchants Bank, and the related bank merger agreement between NUVO and Merchants Bank pursuant to which Merchants Bank will acquire NUVO for or approximately $21.8 million in stock and cash. The deal was first announced last April..

The shareholders of NUVO approved the merger agreement by the affirmative vote of the holders of 84.5 percent of the outstanding shares of NUVO. Of the shares voted, approximately 97.6 percent of the shares were voted in favor of approval of the transaction.

Vermont Business Magazine is proud to announce the winners of its Rising Stars recognition award. The list is comprised of 40 winners under the age of 40. Award recipients were selected by a panel of judges for their commitment to business growth, professional excellence and involvement in their communities. Vermont Business Magazine will honor Vermont's most accomplished young leaders at the Rising Stars dinner on November 5th. The dinner will be held at the Hampton Inn Burlington Hotel in Colchester. The honorees will also be featured in the November issue of Vermont Business Magazine.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Chamber of Commerce and NPI have completed the second annual survey gauging trends driving Vermont-based manufacturers at the Manufactured in Vermont Supply Chain Conference & Trade Show last week. The results projected that 66% of the businesses will perform well above average in the coming year. This is up from 51% the previous year and led to 35% responding that they plan to make large investments in technology and equipment in the next year with 78% saying they receive above average returns from these technology investments.

Vermont Chamber Vice President of Business Development Chris Carrigan said, “We are pleased that the Vermont manufacturing sector is making the capital investments needed to keep on the cutting edge of world-class manufacturing and contribute to economic growth in our state.”

Vermont Business Magazine The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Tuesday that seven Vermont non-profits received a total of $204,000 in grants through USDA Rural Development’s Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG) Program to support the start-up or expansion of rural Vermont businesses. “Emerging and developing businesses are the backbone of Vermont’s economy and our rural communities,” said USDA Rural Development Vermont State Director Ted Brady, “These seven Rural Business Development Grants will invest in our state’s local food systems, our tourism economy and create new opportunities for rural entrepreneurs.”

The 2015 Vermont USDA Rural Development Rural Business Development Grant recipients include:

· Barre 2000 and Beyond Inc.: $35,000 to hire a manager to guide operations for a business incubator space in the Wheelock Office Building in downtown Barre.

Vermont Business Magazine Deb Markowitz, Secretary of Vermont's Agency of Natural Resources, announced the result of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiatives' (RGGI) 29th auction of CO2 allowances. Vermont uses the proceeds from RGGI auctions to support Vermont's energy efficiency programs. Markowitz said, "I am pleased to report that the latest RGGI auction is the most successful to date, with $1,156,675 coming to Vermont from the sale of 192,139 allowances."