Jaffrey manufacturer D.D. Bean & Sons wants to improve its processing, expand its product lines – and add 25 new full-time jobs – with assistance from an economic development loan.
D.D. Bean, which is the last manufacturer of matches and matchbooks in the United States, must continue to be innovative to compete with imported products, Julia Bartlett, vice president of operations for D.D. Bean said in an interview Tuesday. In order to do that, over the next 12 to 18 months, they will be upgrading equipment, adding production lines and making improvements to their shop floor.
The project is anticipated to cost about $1 million in outlay, half of which may come from a federal community development block grant.
The grant is based on job creation, and businesses can apply for up to $500,000 based on the number of jobs they intend to create. The limit for businesses within any one municipality annually is also $500,000, so if D.D. Bean receives the grant it would be the only recipient of a Community Development Block Grant allowed this year for Jaffrey.
Bartlett said the expansion will include 25 new positions, 15 of which are required by the terms of the grant to be filled by people from low- to moderate-income households. The company currently employs 85 people.
The grant is dependent upon job creation, with companies able to borrow up to $20,000 per job they expect to create. Under the terms of the grant, the jobs must be full-time, include a benefits package and 60 percent of the jobs must benefit low and moderate-income households. If the jobs aren’t generated, the company must return the loan amount immediately.
The positions include more quality control workers and mechanics, but the company also wants to strike out in a new area by adding printing and design jobs, Bartlett said.
Some of the new equipment D.D. Bean plans to install is expected to include new printing and packaging equipment, which Bartlett said would allow the company to print more specialized materials for high-end matchbooks.
“We have to compete with imports, so we have to be able to do things they can’t do,” Bartlett said. “We’ll be able to do things such as print holographic materials. We’re also working with Monadnock Paper Mills to work with some of their specialty products.”
The ability to add those sorts of features will help the company “carve its niche,” Bartlett said.
Bartlett said loans such as the Community Development Block Grant are important for small or mid-sized businesses who might not be able to support a more aggressive pay-back schedule.
“We see matchmaking as a craft, and we are the last American match factory in existence. The upgrades we’re planning to make with the [Community Development Block Grant] would help us to be the best in the world, which would help us to compete against potential imports,” she said. “We talk about this idea of matchmaking as a craft a lot, it’s an important part of our culture, how we train people, that they’re learning a craft, they’re learning skills that are unique to the company but also skills they can take with them the rest of their lives.”
The grant, if awarded, will be administered through the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority, but also requires town approval following at least two public hearings on the matter.
The first of two public hearings on the Community Development Block Grant to D.D. Bean & Sons is scheduled for Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. in the Jaffrey town offices. Anyone wishing to submit written comments may do so prior to the hearing, addressed to the Jaffrey Select Board, 10 Goodnow Street, Jaffrey.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.