SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass. – A software developer that creates custom, browser-based applications for businesses will move its headquarters from Massachusetts to Rhode Island, the R.I. Economic Development Corporation announced today.

InQuest Technologies Inc. will move its office from Southborough to 300 West Exchange St., in downtown Providence. The company current employs about 20 people, but plans to expand to 50 workers over the next 12 to 18 months.

“InQuest Technologies’ relocation to Rhode Island is a great win for the state,” EDC Executive Director Saul Kaplan said in a statement. “This is exactly the kind of activity Rhode Island needs to stimulate growth and create more high-wage jobs for our citizens.”

The company’s clients already include National Grid, Verizon, Gilbane Construction, Comcast, Hertz, Staples and NBC, according to its Web site. “InQuest is a strong company with solid leadership and good prospects for growth,” Kaplan said.

InQuest’s CEO and co-founder, Michael Colapietro, said the company was attracted to Rhode Island by the state’s work force, academic institutions and local tech community, as well as the effort of the EDC.

“We are confident that our move to Rhode Island will be an important milestone in our company’s growth and a central ingredient to our future success,” Colapietro said in a statement released this morning.

The EDC, which worked to bring InQuest here as parts of its Opportunity: Rhode Island regional attraction campaign, will give the company a $750,000 loan from the agency’s Small Business Loan Fund to help finance the expansion. The loan will also enable the company to meet demand for IQ9 – its new platform for Web-based business applications – and make the product more visible in the marketplace.

InQuest Technologies Inc. is a developer of Web-based enterprise software for the management of information, projects, documents, assets and inventory. For more information, visit www.InQuestTechnologies.com.