TRENTON, NJ–The state Economic Development Authority Tuesday approved several tax credit awards specifically targeted to encourage manufacturing and technology companies to remain and expand in New Jersey.

“The Grow NJ and Angel investor Tax Credit programs have significantly improved New Jersey's standing in these increasingly important segments of our economy,” said the authority CEO Michele Brown.

Since the EDA began accepting applications under the enhanced Grow NJ program last November, 23 projects have been awarded tax credits tied to the creation of nearly 2,900 new jobs and the retention of more than 2,580 “at-risk” jobs, Brown said. Nine of those awards included a bonus increase for being in the targeted industry of manufacturing and six included a bonus for being in the targeted industry of technology.

At its meeting, the EDA Board approved Grow NJ awards for projects in Bergen, Middlesex and Camden counties. They include awards to encourage:

ENER-G Rudox Inc. to establish an advanced manufacturing facility for cogeneration and energy-efficiency systems, and a network operations center, in East Rutherford instead of Wisconsin.
SodaStream USA, Inc. to expand its presence in Pennsauken, rather than at a competing location in Utah.
Sys-tech Solutions to encourage the technology company to relocate and expand in Plainsboro over Pennsylvania.

The Angel Investor Tax Credit Program, signed into law last year, provides credits against New Jersey corporation business or gross income tax for 10% of a qualified investment in an emerging technology business that conducts research, manufacturing, or technology commercialization in the state.

Since EDA began accepting applications to that program last July, 30 investments have been approved for a total of $14.7 million. Businesses that benefitted in the first quarter of 2014 include:

Bat Blue Networks, a provider of cloud-based virtual perimeter services, based in Clifton
VectraCor, a Totowa-based company working to develop and commercialize products to simplify and speed up diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cardiac and neurological diseases.

At the meeting, the EDA also got an update on its Commercialization Center for Innovative Technologies, which is part of the Technology Centre of New Jersey campus in North Brunswick. In the first quarter, three new tenants arrived at CCIT:

Novanex, a medical device company that develops and commercializes innovative devices and technology to monitor or detect disease conditions or status
VClinBio, a scientific research organization that provides services for advancing drug discovery, personalized therapeutics, biomarkers research and clinical diagnostics validation
Crystal Pharmatech, a technology-driven contract research organization that focuses on materials science and engineering for drug development.

Also, specialty pharmaceutical company Ascendia Pharmaceuticals took an additional 1,000 square feet of space at the center.

Instant Insights /

Bonus Tax Breaks Go to Manufacturing, Tech Cos.

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