Mainebiz

V O L . X X V N O. I I I F E B R UA R Y 4 , 2 0 1 9 6 KeyBank to close four Maine branches e move to digital and online bank- ing has prompted KeyBank to close four of its 49 branches in Maine in April. Branches in Bethel, Guilford, Winthrop and Wilton will be consol- idated with branches in nearby towns, said Karen Crane, senior communi- cations manager. KeyBank has $2.5 billion in deposits in Maine, giving it the fourth largest market share, at 8.44%, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data. e action also illustrates the vulnerability of rural bank branches, a point highlighted in a recent paper published by the ABA Banking Journal. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E The Maine Association of Realtors reported that the state set records in the single-family existing homes real estate sector in 2018. A total of 17,864 homes changed hands in 2018 — a 1.31% increase over 2017. Prices jumped 7.55% to a statewide median sales price of $215,000. Yarmouth firm wins Portland contract Portland's Assessor's Office has retained Tyler Technologies CLT Appraisal Services to conduct a multi-year reassessment project for the city. e project, looking at 24,000 properties, will start this year and continue through mid-2020, culmi- nating in updated values that will be used for the fiscal year 2021 tax bill- ing cycle. Tyler Technologies will be paid $887,215 for the work under its contract with the city. e Yarmouth company conducted the city's last revaluation, in 2006. N O T E W O R T H Y S O U T H E R N Stroudwater Associates, a national health care consulting firm in Portland, said that Marc Voyvodich, who B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state S T A T E W I D E S O U T H E R N Fast-growing STARC Systems to double manufacturing capacity B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r Brunswick — STARC Systems, which manufactures reus- able temporary wall containment for the construction industry, expects to add more jobs and double manufacturing capacity at its Brunswick Landing location by early 2020. The plan comes after a 45% rise in sales in 2018, along with expansion across 47 states, Canada and Australia. To meet demand, STARC hired an additional 17 people and added 10,000 square feet of state-of-the-art manufac- turing in 2018, for its fourth expansion in as many years. CEO Chris Vickers told Mainebiz that, given STARC's focus primarily on the health care construction market, growth is driven by a growing number of large renovation projects in the field across the U.S. "The need for upgrading and expanding health care ser- vices is the driver right now of our business," he said. STARC structures also apply throughout the construction industry, so the business is growing in general, he said. In Maine, STARC's containment structures have been used in projects at Central Maine Medical Center, St. Mary's Health Systems and Maine Medical Center, according to the com- pany's website. Elsewhere, the structures have been used at large hospitals, including Johns Hopkins and Cleveland Clinic. Growth is also driven by STARC's position as a leader in the field — temporary wall containment systems of the type produced by STARC didn't exist before five to seven years ago, he said. "We're driving a completely new market niche," he said. "We're leading the market from a design and functionality perspective right now." STARC's system is designed to prevent dust, debris and infection from entering occupied spaces within health care facilities during renovation, he said. Traditionally, drywall containment has been used, but the construction is loud and dirty and must be discarded with every use. STARC's modular containment system can be reused on hundreds of projects over several years and are clean, quiet and envi- ronmentally friendly. The system also reduces construction noise, and it looks like real walls so people working outside the construction area don't feel like they're next to a construction site, he said. Infection, debris and dust are kept from migrating out of the construction zone through the use of a negative pres- sure environment. STARC was founded in 2012 as a one-person garage startup by Tim Hebert, chairman of Lewiston-based Hebert Construction. Hebert has previously said that STARC came out of a need identified by his family-owned construction business, which created a specialty in health care construction. Hebert remains involved as chairman of the board. In 2015, STARC moved to Brunswick Landing's TechPlace, where it continued to expand. In late 2017, STARC secured $3.5 million through an investment round led by Blue Heron Capital, an equity fund based in Richmond, Va. At that time, Blue Heron co-founder Andrew Tichenor said STARC›s containment system had proven imperative to allow hospital systems to remain opera- tional during renovations, which can otherwise create prob- lems with regard to infection control and dust mitigation. By January 2018, STARC had moved out of TechPlace and into a 16,000-square-foot building down the street at 166 Orion St., adjacent to Brunswick Executive Airport. Today, the company has 25,000 square feet of manu- facturing space, plus offices, in two neighboring buildings. "We believe we're going to need at least double the space by 2020," said Vickers. STARC employs 40 and is adding more. "We added a second shift and our growth even over the last two months is much higher rate than we were running last year," he said. B R I E F P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y S TA R C S Y S T E M S Given its fast rate of growth, STARC Systems plans to double capacity by 2020 with expanded facilities and workforce. STARC Systems CEO Chris Vickers said the company, located at Brunswick Landing, is hiring to keep pace with demand. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y S TA R C S Y S T E M S

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