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V O L . X X I V N O. X V I I I A U G U S T 2 0 , 2 0 1 8 10 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E utility, delivers electricity to 158,000 resi- dential, commercial and industrial cus- tomers across 10,400 square miles in fi ve counties in eastern and northern Maine. It has 400 employees in Maine. UMaine lands $14M grant for infrastructure R&D e University of Maine will estab- lish a federally funded University Transportation Center on the Orono campus that will research and develop new technologies to extend the life of bridges, roads and rails through- out the country. Funded by a $14.2 million, fi ve-year grant, the UTC will be based at UMaine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, helped to secure the grant in her role as chairman of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee by sending a letter last September to the U.S. Department of Transportation supporting UMaine's proposal. N O T E W O R T H Y N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N The University of Maine at Fort Kent and the University of Maine at Presque Isle said they are collaborating to launch a bachelor of science in nursing degree program in Presque Isle starting this fall. The collaboration is an effort to over- come the critical shortage of health care providers in Aroostook County and to help address the statewide nursing cliff. Husson University's School of Nursing in Bangor announced it will be adding NU 708 Socio-Cultural Perception of Addiction and Population Health to its graduate and post-master's nursing pro- grams core curricula starting this fall. The course focuses on addiction and population health from a social deter- minants of global health approach. PRESEN T ING SP ONSORS To make a Donation to the Next List Alumni Scholarship Fund through the Maine Community Foundation, visit mainecf.org and click on Make a gift. FOLLOW US @MBEVENTS #MBNext18 Nominate an innovative leader today! NOMINATION CRITERIA: Must be a business owner, CEO, founder, executive director, entrepreneur or business leader. Has demonstrated forward-thinking and an innovative approach to their work. A positive motivator and influencer of change. Demonstrates an innovative approach to problem solving while up against obstacles or barriers. Mainebiz needs your help to recognize ten dynamic individuals who are changing Maine's Economy and making a significant impact in their industry. To identify these trailblazing business leaders, we're opening the nomination process up to you! You tell us, who's NEXT? NOMINATIONS OPEN JULY 23 – AUGUST 24 www.mainebiz.biz/next B I Z M O N E Y IDEXX, Vets First Choice battle over trade secrets B y J a m e s M c C a r t h y W estbrook-based IDEXX Laboratories is suing two former employees and their current employer, Portland-based Vets First Choice, alleging "actual and/or threatened misap- propriation of trade secrets" and seeking unspecifi ed mon- etary damages, including punitive damages and legal fees. The 32-page lawsuit, fi led Aug. 3 in U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, seeks a jury trial in a case involving Maine's largest publicly traded company and a world leader in veterinary diagnostic testing services and products, IDEXX, and the company co-founded by IDEXX founder David Shaw and his son, Benjamin, who serves as Vets First Choice's CEO. Vets First Choice, founded in Portland in 2010, is one of Maine's fastest-growing companies and has more than 750 employees in the United States and 5,100 veterinary practices on its prescription-management platform. It's the most high-profi le trade secrets case in Maine in recent memory. IDEXX is Maine's largest publicly traded company. Vets First Choice is a rapidly growing company that entered a merger in recent months. In April, Vets First Choice and Henry Schein Inc. (Nasdaq: HSIC) announced plans for Henry Schein to spin off its animal health business and merge it with Vets First Choice, creating an independent publicly traded company. That transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of Henry Schein and Vets First Choice and is expected to close by year›s end. In the news release announcing that merger, the two com- panies said a new publicly traded company, which would be called Vets First Corp. will have combined pro forma 2017 sales of approximately $3.6 billion. The lawsuit alleges that two former IDEXX employees, Dan Leach and Agostino Scicchitano, resigned and hid the fact they were taking jobs with Vets First Choice. "Both apparently downloaded and misappropriated IDEXX's trade secrets within the days leading up to their IDEXX resigna- tion," the lawsuit states. The lawsuit alleges that the two defendants were among at least nine IDEXX employees hired by Vets First Choice since 2017. IDEXX's lawyers — Adrianne E. Fouts of the Portland law fi rm Drummond Woodsum, and Michael D. Wexler and Justin K. Beyer of the Chicago law fi rm Seyfarth Shaw LLP — asked the court to grant an injunction to block the defendants' "actual or threatened disclosure or utilization of IDEXX's trade secrets" as well as to grant IDEXX its "attorneys' fees and exemplary damages." Reached by Mainebiz, Vets First Choice did not comment on the case. From the time of the fi ling, Vets First Choice had 21 days to respond to the suit. P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Benjamin Shaw, founder and CEO of Vets First Choice. A lawsuit fi led by IDEXX Laboratories alleges two former IDEXX employees and their current employer, Vets First Choice, misappropriated its "trade secrets." retains the title of COO. He succeeds Alan Richardson, who has retired after more than 0 years of service at various Emera Inc. companies. Herrin joined Emera Maine as COO in the sum- mer of 2017 after more than 25 years with Tampa Electric. He held a variety of positions at the Florida utility over the years, working in marketing, sales, information technology, procurement and facilities services. Before coming to Maine, Herrin was director of customer experience operations at TECO, suc- cessfully leading the implementation of the company's new customer infor- mation and billing systems. He has an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from University of South Florida and an MBA from University of Tampa. He lives in Bangor. Emera Maine, the state's second-largest electric

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