Tuesday, July 29, 2008

InQuest pulling up stakes for move to Ocean State

By Mass High Tech Staff

InQuest Technologies Inc. plans to move from its Southborough headquarters to Providence, according to the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp.

The RIEDC said the company will move about 20 employees in September and eventually hire about 30 in the new location. 

InQuest worked with the RIEDC to find a site and financing for the move, according to the business development organization. The IT and document management company has been approved for a $750,000 loan from the RIEDC’s small business loan fund to subsidize the move and hiring.

InQuest’s product, IQ9, is a platform for delivering web-based business applications featuring collaboration, project management, business process management, asset management and document management capabilities.

In March, the RIEDC struck up a partnership with the Business Development Co. of New England (BDCNE), which raised a $30 million mezzanine fund called MB Capital III to invest in growing Rhode Island companies.

Also in March, an RIEDC-backed bill was introduced into the Rhode Island Legislature to reposition a $20 million guarantee authority originally used for industrial companies needing machinery. The guarantee authority is intended to help companies obtain loans from private lenders for patents, software, trademarks, copyrights and licenses, according to the RIEDC.