A Brunswick-based investment firm has secured $90 million in federal tax credits aimed at spurring manufacturing growth in rural communities nationwide.
CEI Capital Management, a subsidiary of Coastal Enterprises Inc., said it will deploy the New Markets Tax Credits to attract private investment in domestic manufacturers that are creating quality jobs in Maine and beyond.
“Starting or growing a manufacturing facility demands significant time and capital, and the New Markets Program offers affordable, flexible funding, especially in rural areas,” said Traci Vaine, CEI Capital Management’s chief executive officer.
“This support helps companies create good jobs with living wages, essential benefits, opportunities for training and advancement and access to wealth-building tools like retirement accounts,” she added. “Good jobs are essential to rural communities because they provide economic stability that allows workers and families to remain and build their futures locally.”
Since 2004, the organization has deployed nearly $1.16 billion in New Markets Tax Credits financing to more than 100 projects nationwide.
“Building strong communities means more than just creating jobs, it means creating Good Jobs that support and sustain working people and their families,” said Betsy Biemann, CEI’s chief executive officer. She was honored as a Mainebiz Woman to Watch in 2019.
“This award will bring critically needed private investment to deeply distressed rural areas, where access to capital is limited or non-existent, and will support the growth of businesses that are committed to good jobs and to boosting the vitality of their communities,” she said.