The Morristown Development Fund, administered by the Lamoille Economic Development Corporation, has made a substantial loan to the Vermont Peanut Butter Company, Inc to assist it with business expansion and a new product launch.VTPB is expanding into several new retail outlets including a trial recently begun in selected Hannaford stores including the store in Morrisville.
If the trial is successful VTPB will become part of the product offer in more Hannaford stores as production capacity increases. The company is also in the near future launching a new single-serve product line under the trademarked name ‘VTPB Pack It.’
Chris Kaiser, the founder and CEO of VTPB says, ‘We are very excited to have received the financial backing of the MDF to assist us in meeting our growth potential. Without the amount of help they have provided us we simply would not have been able to implement our plans. This assistance has already allowed us to take on a new staff member and we expect to be hiring more employees as our growth continues. Using the funding provided we have ordered several new pieces of production equipment which we expect to start taking delivery of sometime in mid September. The MDF is a terrific resource for the Morristown community which I would urge all small businesses to investigate when they are looking for financial assistance.’
VTPB was founded in 2009 in Waterbury byKaiser, a resident of Stowe. When Hurricane Irene hit Vermont last August the factory (Ben & Jerry’s original location) was virtually underwater and nearly everything was lost. Last fall Kaiser moved the company to Morrisville into a new facility on Munson Avenue previously occupied by Fastenal.
The MDF provides financial support through loans to businesses and other organizations either located in or moving into Morristown. The fund is administered by the LEDC but is owned by the Town of Morristown. For more information or an application package please contact John Mandeville, Executive Director of the LEDC at 888-5640 or Todd Thomas, Zoning Administrator/Planner for the Town of Morristown at 888-6373.
Source: LEDC August 1, 2012