It’s official: Carousel Industries Inc. is leaving South Kingstown after closing last week on the purchase of the former Carbon Technology plant in Exeter.

The high-tech firm has leased space at the Palisades Mill complex for about three years. In mid-August, it expects to move the 85 employees based in Peace Dale to new headquarters at 659 South County Trail in Exeter, said Carousel CEO Jeffrey Gardner.

Carousel, under the aegis of Hannibal SCT Realty LLC, purchased the approximately nine-acre property from Morgan Advanced Materials & Technology for $2.15 million last week, Exeter town records show.

Morgan, which acquired Carbon Technology in 1992, announced in 2005 that it would close the manufacturing plant on South County Trail, laying off 103 workers.

“Obviously we’re happy the property is going to be used,” said Exeter Town Council Vice President Robert Johnson. Morgan paid about $29,000 a year in property taxes.

“It was devastating for the town. There were a lot of people who worked there,” Exeter Town Clerk Cheryl Chorney said yesterday. “It’s good that [Carousel’s] coming.”

Carousel’s first years, in the early 1990s, were spent in a deli on Charlestown Beach Road. Customers could order a ham on rye or a telephone system. Today, the telecommunications firm counts Bank of America, Amica Mutual Insurance Co., Bose and the Boston Red Sox as clients.

The company, which installs Avaya communication systems, has wired the Democratic and Republican national conventions and the Super Bowl for CBS. Its sales grew from $5 million in 2000 to an expected $60 million-plus six years later.

Gardner, a Bryant College — now Bryant University — graduate, founded the business with his brother-in-law, Michael Vickers. The company, which employs 360, had looked for locations in South County for several years.

“It’s been challenging finding space in South Kingstown,” Gardner said.

Construction will soon begin to convert the Exeter plant to a state-of-the art facility, Gardner said. Carousel plans to occupy 30,000 square feet and lease out the remaining 30,000 square feet.

“It’s quite an upgrade,” Gardner said, referring to the 15,000 square feet the firm now occupies.

Larry Fish, chairman of the South Kingstown Economic Development Committee, said he regretted the town’s loss of Carousel.

“Those employees are now going to eat out in Exeter and buy gas elsewhere,” Fish said. “[Local tax revenue] is not really a big hit. It’s not having those people in town,” he said. “Every little bit helps.”

Carousel paid South Kingstown about $7,000 in property taxes for its furniture, fixtures, inventory and vehicles in 2006, according to Tax Assessor Jean-Paul Bouchard.

Gary Guarriello, whose family has owned Palisades Mill since 1966, did not return a phone call yesterday.