Montague’s Mayhew Steel Products Builds Addition, Supported by $1.4 Million MassDevelopment Bond

January 11, 2011

Contacts:
Kelsey Abbruzzese, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086 & 617-448-9077
Larry Geiser, Mayhew Steel Products, 413-863-4860

MassDevelopment has issued a $1.4 million tax-exempt industrial development bond on behalf of Deerfield Valley Realty, LLC and Mayhew Steel Products in Montague, which will use the bond proceeds to build a 33,600-square-foot building addition. Deerfield Valley Realty will act as the borrower for the real estate. Mayhew Steel Products will also invest $500,000 for new equipment using other internal funds. With the new addition and equipment, the hand tool manufacturer will be able to modernize and consolidate some of its operations at one facility, improving efficiency and increasing capacity. People’s United Bank purchased the bonds.

“Mayhew Steel is the oldest punch and chisel manufacturer in the country, helping start the long tradition of precision machine and hand tool manufacturing in Western Massachusetts,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Robert L. Culver. “The vibrancy of Massachusetts’s important manufacturing sector depends on the work of companies like Mayhew, and we're pleased this low-cost financing can assist in expanding the business.”

Founded in 1865 in Shelburne, Mayhew Steel has manufactured quality hand tools and over time, added products such as prying bars, masonry tools, nail sets, and carbon scrapers for industrial, construction and automotive aftermarket professionals. In 2002, the company moved its corporate offices and warehouse from Shelburne to Montague, and may decide to move some of its manufacturing operations there once the addition is completed. The company, which has 82 employees, expects the project will create five jobs.

“Due to the growth Mayhew Tools continues to experience, the company has decided to expand its corporate headquarters and move a number of its key business facets under one roof,” said John Lawless, president and owner of Mayhew Tools. “This will allow for greater efficiencies from both a production and cost standpoint. In addition, it will allow us to provide better overall customer service while maintaining the same high quality our customers have come to expect from Mayhew Tools.”

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development authority, works with businesses, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2010, MassDevelopment financed or managed 238 projects in 104 communities across the state generating investment of nearly $1.4 billion in the Massachusetts economy.