North County

Manufacturers based in North Central Massachusetts will now have new access to renewable electricity, thanks to a new contract between the North Central Massachusetts Development Corp. (NCMDC) and Nugen Capital Management LLC to generate net metering credits from a new solar facility to be built in Lunenburg.

Dilon Technologies Inc., a medical imaging products company, has acquired a subsidiary of Dynasil Corp., a Massachusetts company with operations in Ayer. According to a statement, Virginia-based Dilon acquired the assets of the Navigator gamma probe business from RMD Instruments Corp., a subsidiary of Watertown-based Dynasil. The acquired products are used in cancer surgeries, according to Dilon.

Unemployment in Central Massachusetts fell significantly over the past month but is still higher than at this point last year.

Fitchburg-based Arrhythmia Research Technology Inc. announced the closing of its offering of notes and warrants to purchase $500,000 in common stock.

Jabil Circuit, the Florida-based manufacturer that bought Nypro Inc. of Clinton earlier this year, reported an 11-percent jump in profits for its most recent quarter, the first full quarter in which Nypro operated under the Jabil banner.

Vitasoy USA of Ayer, a processor of soybeans, will pay a state fine of nearly $11,000 and install a sophisticated industrial wastewater pre-treatment system after complaints were lodged over odors, according to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

The catering business that recently announced plans to build in Devens is a harbinger of more economic activity to come, according to Steve Catalano, owner of Dolce Brands, which specializes in serving the film industry. Catalano said he's in talks with other businesses interested in leasing space at the site of the former Hodges Theatre, which Catalano bought with the intention of razing it in the spring to rebuild a state-of-the-art catering facility adjacent to New England Studios. The four-stage studio facility opened this fall, and Hodges scooped up the theater -- which closed along with the former Fort Devens military base in the mid-1990s -- and its 3-acre parcel in anticipation of the start of filming next year.

Boston-based First Wind announced a 25-year agreement to provide wind-generated power, at cost, to 17 Massachusetts towns, including eight in Central Massachusetts.

North Central Massachusetts is an area that keeps its manufacturing past in full view. Many towns retain nicknames that bring to mind old, dirty factories turning out the kinds of things that are now mostly imported from China. For instance, Winchendon is “Toy Town,” Gardner “Chair City,” and Athol “Tool Town.”

An expert in business revitalization will become Fitchburg's director of economic development and chief marketing officer next week.