New Hampshire Business Review October-19 2012

Private equity firm wraps up Presstek acquisition

Bob Sanders,

The private equity firm American Industrial Partners on Wednesday completed its $26 million acquisition of the Presstek Inc., the printing equipment firm based in Connecticut with a major production facility in Hudson. The sale price amounted to 50 cents a…

White Mts. sees rise in earnings, pre-Sandy

Bob Sanders,

White Mountains Insurance has been making money this year, so far, partly because the reinsurer did not have to pay the kind of catastrophic losses it paid last year. But Tuesday's earnings report -- the day after superstorm Sandy smacked…

GTAT laying off 40 N.H. workers in worldwide layoff

Bob Sanders,

Nashua-based GT Advanced Technologies is laying off about 40 employees in New Hampshire as part of a 25 percent reduction in its worldwide workforce. The move was made, the company said Wednesday, in order to better face a "challenging 2013."…

Woodlands members OK credit union's merger with Northeast

Bob Sanders,

Despite some opposition, Woodlands Credit Union members voted by a 3-2 margin on Saturday to merge the Berlin-based credit union with Northeast Credit Union of Portsmouth, the company announced Wednesday. The merged Northeast Credit Union will have assets of $800…

Unitil reports 3Q earnings increase

Bob Sanders,

If you are a Unitil customer reading this on a computer this morning despite Hurricane Sandy, you might have benefited from the $2.5 million that the Hampton-based utility spent on vegetation clearing during the last nine months. And if you…

N.H. median home price increases for first time since 2010

Bob Sanders,

The last pre-election report on home sales from the New Hampshire Association of Realtors is a good one for those arguing that the housing market is on the rebound. For the first time since the recession hit, the median price…

$455k USDA energy grant goes to Balsams

NH Business Review Staff,

Balsams View LLC, the company that owns and is renovating the landmark Balsams Grand Resort in Dixville Notch, has received a $455,000 federal grant to help it install a $1.8 million, high-efficiency wood-fired heating system. The grant, awarded by the…

Study puts N.H. workers' comp rates at 9th highest in nation

Kathleen Callahan,

New Hampshire has the ninth most expensive workers' compensation insurance premiums in the country - the state's worst ranking since Oregon began publishing figures from its biennial study in 1994.The data, released this month by the Oregon Department of Consumer…

Ex-Cabletron exec reaches tentative settlement with SEC

Bob Sanders,

Eric Jaeger, Cabletron Systems' former top lawyer, has tentatively settled charges of securities fraud with staff from the Securities and Exchange Commission, postponing a trial that was scheduled for next month in Concord. U.S. District Court Judge Steven J. McAuliffe…

Proposed standards will mean a change for N.H. syrup makers

Kathleen Callahan,

Grade B maple syrup may be getting a rebranding in New Hampshire and beyond as maple syrup producers work to standardize syrup grades across the industry. The Ontario-based International Maple Syrup Institute, a trade group with members in Canada and…