Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | Fact Book 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 15 R E G I O N S N o r t h C o u n t y Tax rate per $1,000 Community in assessed value North County property tax rates Royalston 14.44 Hubbardston 15.13 Petersham 16.37 Pepperell 16.39 Shirley 16.42 Philipston 16.48 Templeton 16.72 Harvard 17.15 Princeton 17.28 Winchendon 17.35 Sterling 17.54 Westminster 18.55 Groton 18.67 Barre 18.80 Leominster 19.33 Athol 19.57 Lunenburg 19.70 Lancaster 19.98 Ashby 20.17 Townsend 20.26 Gardner 20.27 Ashburnham 23.40 Fitchburg* 24.37 Clinton** 30.73 Ayer*** 31.00 *Residential tax rate is 21.01. **Residential tax rate is 16.98. ***Residential tax rate is 14.43 Source: Mass. Department of Revenue The advantage of a lower cost of doing business F itchburg marketing company Research Results Inc., has been in North Central Massachusetts for 30 years. The company decided to expand to a new headquarters at 915 South St. and moved in on Oct. 1. John Zarrella, president and founder, spoke with WBJ about what it's like to do business in the area. Tell me about Research Results, and how the company has grown in the past few decades. Over the past 30 years, the company has experienced significant growth in both the number of clients we serve and the number of employees employed. The genesis of the new building plan was always to stay here. Can you talk about the decision to expand your headquarters? We were in a much older, but very classic building downtown, but we just needed more space. We purchased the property in 2015 and moved last month. In 2006, we were a team of 11 people. Now we have 48 in total, 36 of which are in the Fitchburg office. Others work remotely from 10 states. What kind of service does your company provide? We provide data collection and back office services to market research industries, online surveys, data pro- cessing and various aspects of data delivery. How did you decide to start the business? I had been a consultant at Bain and Co. 31 years ago doing essentially the same work, had a child, and was working 100+ hours a week. I figured it would be better to try something out here. We started out in a basement. I was originally from Fitchburg – very much a Fitchburg guy. And how has the company being in Fitchburg shaped your business? Well, one of the reasons why we've John Zarrella, president & founder, Research Results, Inc. been able to grow rapidly and effectively is because we're in Fitchburg. We attract a level of talent if we were in Boston, New York or the West Coast would cost us significantly more. People find the cost of living to be very reasonable. Our cost of doing business is significantly lower. Tell me about your employees? There aren't a lot of firms in our industry in the region, so finding expe- rienced people can be a challenge. We can attract entry-level folks in the area, give them a great start in the industry and train them up. One of our proudest parts is that we don't lose people. Do you have lifers? The longest person has been there 30.5 years. She is a woman who started at 16 as a courier. There was no fax or email then really, so this one person did that. Now she's one of the most senior people in the company. This interview was conducted and edited for length and clarity by Sarah Betancourt, special to WBJ. Research Results, Inc. held a ribbon-cutting ceremony with local officials for its headquarters expansion. land and turned it into a 4,400-acre mixed-use community. Today, Devens features more than 100 businesses employing more than 4,000 workers. North Central Massachusetts has had a boom of growth in many areas, including tourism and manufacturing. Emerging tourist destination In total, visitors now have over 130 restaurants, and 1,195 rooms to stay in. The Great Wolf Lodge in Fitchburg, which opened in May 2014, is a new purveyor for tourism, employing between 500 to 600 people. The com- pany owns and operates a chain of family resorts and indoor water parks nationwide. "We've gone from $14 million in 2004 to $131.7 million in 2016 of eco- nomic impact on tourism," said Nascimento. A new soccer complex called Game On Fitchburg is set to be completed in February with 14 youth sport soccer fields and four indoors. "The tournaments are going to bring a lot of visitors," Nascimento said. Like any area, challenges exist. The high cost of energy, which is a problem statewide, creates exorbitant costs for manufacturers. "Energy costs are a big concern," Nascimento said. The growing manufacturing industry The area has more 440 manufactur- ers, with about a third of all wages coming from the industry. It's the state's largest concentration of manufacturers. "Manufacturing has seen a rebirth," Nascimento said. "These are good- paying jobs that pay 20 to 30 per- cent more than other industries and can some- times offer tuition reimbursement." He's hoping the chamber can change the perception of manufacturing as a dying industry by showing interested students factories and providing tours and connections to North Central's manufacturing companies. AIS Inc., a global manufacturer of office furniture, moved to Leominster in 2017 from its former Hudson, N.Y. headquarters and made the North Central Massachusetts office its corpo- rate home with about 700 employees. "The area has good access to labor," said Bruce Platzman, CEO and presi- dent of AIS. "You can be in downtown Boston in 55 minutes, and the trucking companies are in Central Mass." Continued on Page 17 Bruce Platzman, CEO & president, AIS Inc. W

• Cover