Leominster

A Leominster company has launched two new product designs after soliciting feedback on social media from its user base.

EQT Exeter acquired two industrial buildings, with a combined 116,000 square feet, located at 100 & 110 Jytek Drive in Leominster for $14.7 million on Thursday, as the Radnor, Pa. real estate investment firm expands further into Massachusetts.

A 25,600-square-foot industrial building at 50 Jytek Road in Leominster sold for $1.58 million, according to the Worcester North District Registry of Deeds.

Worcester insurer Fallon Health announced on Tuesday it was expanding the areas of availability for its Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE, which is now available to adults in over 270 zip codes 10 counties.

Among the organizations making recent hires and promotions are Fidelity Bank, Berkshire Bank, UMass Memorial Health, and AdCare Hospital.

Overall, more than 20,000 PPP loans for a total of $1.8 billion were given out to businesses across Worcester County, with more than 4,800 and $450 million of those loans going to businesses within the city of Worcester, according to data from the SBA.

The bank’s growth in assets mainly came from securities, which rose $84 million from the 2020 fiscal year, and net loans, which increased by $48 million.

The New England Newspaper & Press Association has given nine journalism awards to Worcester Business Journal at part of the 2021 Better Newspaper Competition, honoring stories on the legacy of slavery in Central Massachusetts, housing discrimination in Worcester, and attempts to narrow racial and gender pay gaps.

Heywood Healthcare, one of the last independent community healthcare systems in Central Massachusetts, has agreed in principle to join the UMass Memorial Health system, seeking to become part of the network with facilities in Worcester, Marlborough, Leominster, Clinton and Southbridge.

The North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce announced Monday its economic development affiliate, the North Central Massachusetts Development Corp., is launching a new small business loan program.