NEW LONDON - Rambow Inc. of New London plans to invest more than $500,000 to expand its New London facility and increase its workforce.
According to a news release from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, the department will assist in the expansion with an $84,000 grant from the Minnesota Job Creation Fund.
The company will receive the funding after meeting hiring and investment commitments.
Founder Steve Rambow said in a telephone interview Monday that the 96-by-128-foot addition is expected to be operating by Jan. 1.
The company specializes in doing custom embroidery and screen-printed apparel and promotional items.
The plan is to add 15 full-time jobs over the next five years as the company expands its business beyond Minnesota. Rambow said that effort has been under way for about a year already and will continue.
“You may think you’re doing fine by maintaining the status quo, but you’re not,” he said. “You’re falling behind,” because competitors are always moving forward.
The company may eventually open an office and showroom in the Fargo, N.D., area, he said, but production of the company’s products will remain in New London.
The Job Creation Fund will award $24 million in business incentives that were approved in the 2013 legislative session. The fund was first proposed by Gov. Mark Dayton to encourage job growth in Minnesota.
“Rambow Inc. is a growing Minnesota business that has succeeded through hard work and perseverance by founder Steve Rambow and his employees,” said DEED Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben in the release. “The company serves customers nationwide and has grown into one of the area’s leading employers.”
The state’s news release describes how Rambow, a former junior high math and American government teacher, launched the business in the basement of his home in 1979, calling it Rambow Sportswear Specialties. He moved the growing business to a vacant hardware store on Main Street in New London in 1985 and to the company’s current site at 1000 Rambow Parkway, on the city’s west side, in 1997. Rambow Inc. employs about 50 people.
The Minnesota Job Creation Fund is a new pay-for-performance program that provides up to $1 million to businesses after they meet certain criteria, including minimum requirements for job creation and private investments. Under the program, businesses must create at least 10 full-time jobs and invest at least $500,000 to be eligible for financial assistance.
The program is available to businesses engaged in manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, technology and other eligible activities. Companies must work with the local government where a project is located to apply for and receive designation as a Job Creation Fund business.
Since the Job Creation Fund was launched in January, DEED has awarded more than $13 million to 23 companies in throughout Minnesota. Those companies have committed to creating more than 1,400 new jobs and investing $236.4 million to expand.
