Coastal travel company Regent Craft Inc. has broken ground on its new 255,000-square foot seaglider manufacturing facility at the Quonset Business Park, North Kingstown, R.I. The facility is expected to be operational by 2026 and will be used for component manufacturing, final assembly, and pre-delivery testing of REGENT's 12-passenger Viceroy seaglider model.
REGENT noted the events speakers included R.I. Gov. Dan McKee, U.S. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Reps. Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo, R.I. house speaker Joseph Shekarchi, and R.I. Sen. Robert Britto.
REGENT said the company selected Rhode Island as its headquarters due to its coastal testing environments, expertise in naval architecture and composite manufacturing, and access to skilled workers from across New England. The company has secured financial support from the state, including $1 million from the Rhode Island Commerce Department’s First Wave Closing Fund and up to $3 million from the Rebuild Rhode Island Tax Credit program. Under Rhode Island’s Qualified Jobs Program, REGENT is eligible for up to $13 million in incentives if it meets hiring goals, with plans to create 300 jobs and potentially expand to 750 over the next decade.
To date, REGENT says it has created more than 100 jobs and invested nearly $40 million into the state. The company has also secured a $60 million Series A funding round, the largest venture-capital raise in Rhode Island’s history, REGENT said. The company noted it has a reported global commercial order book exceeding $9 billion and has established itself as a defense contractor with the U.S. Marine Corps.
The company said it has developed a full-scale passenger-carrying seaglider prototype, with sea trials scheduled in the coming months. REGENT anticipates conducting the first-ever human flight on a seaglider later this year.