North County

David Miles has been named president of Simonds Saw in Fitchburg.

The North Central Massachusetts Development Corp. on Wednesday announced the launch of a small business loan program where businesses who haven't been able to get money from a lending institution can go to get loans worth up to $150,000.

If incentives come through, Townsend plastics housewares maker Sterilite Corp. will construct a 2.5-million-square-foot manufacturing and distribution center in Davenport, Iowa, and expects to create 500 jobs at the plant within five years of opening.

Worcester financial institution Rollstone Bank & Trust announced Tuesday the hiring of a new executive vice president and chief operating officer.

A Leominster plastics maker has been selected as the manufacturer of a series of environmentally-friendly single use cutlery for the in-store cafes of a major U.S. organic grocery chain.

Four years ago, office furniture manufacturer AIS was spread out between five different locations across Central Massachusetts. So President, CEO and Co-founder Bruce Platzman decided to start looking at ways to consolidate the company's headquarters under one roof.

A day after Warren Group analysts announced near-record home sales and sale prices for the month of November, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that the inventory of homes for sale last month hit its lowest level since the trade group began tracking the basic metric in January 2004.

Fitchburg human services nonprofit LUK Inc. has named Beth Barto as its new chief executive officer.

Fresh off its announcements Thursday about a $68 million annual surplus and a possible new emergency department in Leominster, UMass Memorial Health Care received strong ratings from Fitch Ratings in New York City, which praised the system's financial position.

UMass Memorial Health Care is considering a new emergency department at HealthAlliance Hospital in Leominster, President and CEO Eric Dickson said Thursday.