Projo Biz Blog

A Newport technology company said it will move to a refurbished mill building in Warren because it needs more space to expand.

AVTECH, which makes software and hardware devices that monitor environmental conditions of computer data centers, has agreed to purchase Cutler Mill for $1.735 million, according to company founder and owner, Michael Sigourney.

The mill, built in 1868, has 41,000 square feet of space in its main building and another 8,000 square feet in an attached structure. It sits on a 2.13 acre site at the corner of Child and Cutler Streets.

Sigourney said the company has simply outgrown its current location -- an old mill building near the entrance to the Naval Station in Newport. It shares the building with SAIC, a government contractor.

The company had been trying to purchase an unused school in Newport, the company said in a news release. But that effort was taking longer than AVTECH "could afford to wait," the company said.

"AVTECH has been in desperate need of space for the last year and holding off on hiring new employees because they did not have room to house them."

AVTECH has about 30 employees, Sigourney said. Of those, 12 were hired last year. Two more job openings are about to be filled, he said.

The company's products are used to help companies monitor their data center -- a temperature controlled facility where companies store their most important computers.

Computers work most efficiently at temperatures below 85 degrees, Sigourney said. AVTECH's products monitor the room's temperature, as well as its humidity, and can be set up to alert someone if these measurements indicate there is a problem. AVTECH's equipment also detects power problems and whether a room has been flooded.

Sigourney said the company's products are used to monitor the environments of the White House, the Pentagon, United Nations facilities, space vehicles, and a host of well-known companies, such as Google and Microsoft.

Sigourney, who is the sole owner of AVTECH, said he founded the company in 1988 in Newport, Calif. He said he moved to Newport, Rhode Island in 1993 in order to be closer to Europe and to high-tech publishers based on the East Coast.

He declined to give the company's annual sales revenue figures.

The real estate closing for the Cutler Mill is scheduled for December 5, Sigourney said. The current owner is David Wescott, who has owned the property since 2002, Sigourney said. AVTECH plans to move in by March 1, 2009, the company said.

There are several other businesses located in the Cutler Mill, including the East Bay Chamber of Commercie, Basically British Tea Room, Imago Art Gallery, Yoga Loft and the Rhode Island Fencing Academy.

"AVTECH plans to keep as many tenants as possible," the company said in a statement.
However, Sigourney said that the fencing academy will probably have to move because AVTECH needs the space the academy occupies on the third floor.

He said AVTECH plans to invest another $500,000 to further refurbish the Cutler Mill. It may restore the mill's original tower, as long as Warren's city leaders support the idea, the company said.

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