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V O L . X X V N O. V I M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 9 6 Schools team up on vet tech training An agreement that will help ease a shortage of veterinary technicians, where positions range from the local humane shelter to companies like IDEXX and Jackson laboratories, has been final- ized between the University of Maine at Augusta, York County Community College and the Maine Veterinary Medical Center. e program will make it easier for students earning an associate vet tech degree at YCCC to move on to a bachelor's degree at UMA. Veterinary technology positions are in demand in the state. According to vettechnicians. org, there are 720 vet techs and 530 vet assistants working in Maine. Vet techs are required to have at least an associ- ate degree from a college accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association, complete an internship and pass a licensing exam. e organiza- tion said that vet techs in Maine earn an average of $32,930, which is higher than the national average. Top earn- ers can make $42,750 a year. e U.S. Department of Labor projects the need will grow 20% between 2016 and 2026. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E Land For Good in Keene, N.H., re- ceived a $600,000 grant from the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program that will fund Phase 3 of a New England-wide Land Access Project that provides land access and transfer education, training and technical assistance to beginning and established farmers in collabora- tion with state partner Maine Farmland 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 U N I V E R S I T Y O F M A I N E , B E A R ' S D E N Orono, Maine B U I L D I N G O N OUR PROMISE. A modernized approach to an iconic campus meeting spot. While honoring the history of the University of Maine's Bear's Den, we renovated this iconic campus café into brighter, more functional space. W W W . S H E R I D A N C O R P . C O M WEX's move into new Portland headquarters hailed by Maine leaders B y M a i n e b i z S t a f f PORTLAND — The new 102,000-square-foot office building on Portland's waterfront that will house the headquarters of the payment processing provider WEX Inc. was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting that drew Gov. Janet Mills and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins. WEX's move to downtown Portland from South Portland will bring 400 new jobs to the city. Its operations center will continue to be in South Portland, with more than 1,000 jobs remaining in that city. WEX (NYSE: WEX) is Maine's third-largest publicly traded company (behind Covetrus and IDEXX Laboratories) and has annual sales of $1.25 billion. WEX has 4,700 employees worldwide. Mills, speaking before about 125 who attended the event on March 8, emphasized the jobs the new WEX location rep- resents, and the push to bring Mainers into the workforce. Mills said 3,800 people applied for 50 internships with the company last year; 32 of those went to people from Maine. She cited the "unquestionable boon" the headquar- ters brings to the area economy, and said that, aside from the high-paying jobs for Mainers, it's also bringing new people to Maine. Collins, who spoke before Mills, got a laugh when she said, "I'm from your biggest customer, the federal government." Looking around the sun-filled foyer of the building, she added, "Do you have room for my office on the second floor?" U.S. Sen. Angus King, who spoke by video, said: "Here's a phrase I love: 'Global corporate headquarters.'" The ceremony was held on International Women's Day, and Collins made a point of noting that the governor, senator and WEX's president and CEO, Melissa Smith, are all women. The $15 million building, by developer Jonathan Cohen, at 0 Hancock, was built by Cianbro of Pittsfield. WEX is leas- ing 80,000 square feet of the space and started moving in early last month. It will operate as both accommodations for the corporate office and as an innovation hub for the global fleet, corporate payments and technology teams. The move Portland presence provides the company with more space to better accommodate its growing business and employee needs, Smith said in a news release. "WEX has seen tremendous growth and we continue to embrace new opportunities," said Smith in a news release before the ribbon-cutting. "We will evaluate a variety of options to meet our office space needs in the Greater Portland area that align with our growth expectations. Part of WEX's unique culture comes from our roots in Maine, and we are looking forward to celebrating our new space with the community." B R I E F P H O T O / P E T E R VA N A L L E N Melissa Smith, president and CEO of WEX Inc., at the ribbon-cutting for the company's new headquarters in Portland. At her left is U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and Gov. Janet Mills.

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