Testing Machines Inc. (TMI) -- a supplier of laboratory testing instrumentation for the nonwovens, textile, paper, pulp, film, foil, ink, coatings and corrugated industries, and a member of the TMI Group of Companies -- has relocated its headquarters and manufacturing operations from Long Island, N.Y., to a new 20,000-square-foot facility in New Castle, Del. The company has hired 11 employees in addition to the 17 existing employees who relocated, and it plans to add 22 more positions by the end of the summer.

The Delaware Economic Development Office awarded TMI a $500,000 loan from the Delaware Strategic Fund to provide working capital and funds for the purchase of machinery and equipment. Of these proceeds, $100,000 will be converted to a grant if TMI hires and maintains a minimum of 50 full-time jobs over three years.

TMI invested $300,000 to construct its environmentally friendly plant, which features a solar power system with 160 solar power panels generating 50 kilowatts of power; 15 wells to provide geothermal heating and cooling; a membrane roof installed by Wilmington, N.C.-based Francis Pollinger & Son; LED lighting throughout the plant; and other features that will reduce energy consumption by 80 percent, the company reports. The solar power system was funded by a $90,000 Delaware Green Energy Fund grant, which was approved by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC).

"TMI's significant investment in solar and geothermal technology will prevent nearly a hundred thousand pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually from entering our atmosphere," said Collin O'Mara, secretary, DNREC. "With the support of the State's Green Energy Fund, TMI will reap a valuable payback and reduce their energy costs, while at the same time benefiting all Delawareans by supporting cleaner air, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and supporting the creation of clean energy jobs."

July 13, 2010