A company that manufactures components for a variety of industries has relocated from New Hampshire to Maine, a decision helped in part by the state’s incentive programs.

Paradise Machine Co. LLC said it recently moved from North Conway, New Hampshire, to Fryeburg after 18 years of operation. Paradise is a precision manufacturing company with 10 full-time employees that has clients in the aerospace, medical and commercial products industries.

The company said it worked closely with Maine & Co., a private, nonprofit business development organization based in Portland, before the move. Maine & Co. has a mission of bringing out-of-state employers to Maine.

Paradise Vice President Adam Price said the company had been leasing a space in North Conway that had become too small, and that it was looking for a building to purchase that would be large enough for future expansion. Relocating to Fryeburg opened up more affordable options, he said.

“We are paying now just slightly more for our mortgage than we were paying for our rent,” Price said.

Fryeburg is only about 10 miles from North Conway, so Paradise employees did not have to change residences to accommodate the company’s relocation, he said.

Price said the Maine Rural Development Authority financing, which offers low-interest loans of up to $500,000 to companies that invest in economically distressed areas of rural Maine, was essential to making the company’s move feasible. The loan program is administered by the Finance Authority of Maine.

“I don’t think we would be able to do what we’re doing without that funding,” he said.

Price said the company also is in the process of applying for the Pine Tree Development Zones program, which provides qualifying businesses with tax benefits, including income tax credits and sales tax exemptions on the purchase of business equipment, in exchange for the promise of new jobs. The Maine Legislature recently extended the program by three years to Dec. 31, 2021, with tax benefits available to qualifying businesses through 2031.

In the future, Paradise plans to apply for another economic incentive program called Opportunity Zones, which was part of the Republican tax cut bill that passed in December. That program is currently awaiting federal rulemaking.

Paradise is hosting an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday for local and regional business and community members at its new facility at 178 Porter Road in Fryeburg. The company will offer tours, food and an opportunity to meet its staff. Gov. Paul LePage is scheduled to attend the event, it said.

J. Craig Anderson can be contacted at 791-6390 or at:

canderson@pressherald.com

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