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V O L . X X V N O. X V I I I A U G U S T 1 9 , 2 0 1 9 14 G R E AT E R B A N G O R / N O R T H E R N M A I N E W hen the paper industry in Piscataquis County started fading earlier than it did in the rest of the state, what could have been a disaster became an opportunity. Manufacturing businesses that had already adapted to the challenges of doing business from a place many, even in Maine, consider remote were poised to adapt even more. "Manufacturing is very much alive in Piscataquis County," says Chris Winstead, executive director of the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council. "We hear a lot about the wood products industry and what's happened with it, but businesses have adapted and diversified. "We were kind of ahead of the curve on the mills closing," he says. Of the four largest employers in the county of 17,000, three are manufacturers. At the top is Puritan Medical Products and a sister company, Hardwood Products Co., which combined employ 550. e second-largest employer is the Charlotte White Center, in Dover-Foxcroft, which provides social services. Duvaltex US Inc., a Quebec-based textile manufacturer, is third. JSI Store Fixtures, of Milo, which has 200 employees there and 380 overall, is fourth, according to the Maine Department of Labor. It's significant, Winstead says, that Puritan/Hardwood and JSI are fam- ily-owned and committed to the area, despite challenges that range from finding workers to putting salespeople on the road to meet with far-away customers. 'We could be anywhere' "We could really be anywhere in the country," says Mark Awalt, executive vice president of JSI and a Milo native. "But this is where we started, and we're connected to this community." In Guilford, 20 miles west, Puritan is celebrating its 100th year in town. e company, which began as Hardwood Products Co. and is now affiliated with its sister company of that name, could also be anywhere. "We're here because of the wood," says Timothy Templet, executive vice president of Puritan. "Ironically, as Puritan grows, we don't have anything to do with the wood anymore." (More on that later.) Templet says Puritan/Hardwood is committed to the community, where events are being held throughout the year to celebrate the company's centennial. "We've had generations in families work here," he says. Puritan and Hardwood offer schol- arships to children and grandchildren of employees, as well as supporting a number of community causes. In Milo, the Tradewinds grocery store recently doubled in size, in a large part because of solid employment for so many area residents provided by JSI, area development officials say. Puritan added 40,000 square feet of warehouse space recently, but it isn't enough. "We're bursting at the seams," Templet says. He says it's hard to find employees — the company would employ more if it could find the people. Awalt says he doesn't have that problem in the Milo area. "ere aren't many companies in places like Milo that offer health, dental and the pay we do," Awalt says. P H O T O / M A U R E E N M I L L I K E N F O C U S Mark Awalt, executive vice president of JSI Store Fixtures, with Duane Hallowell, vice president of refrigeration. The Milo-based company has 200 employees there and 380 overall. We could really be anywhere in the country, but this is where we started, and we're connected to this community. — Mark Awalt JSI Store Fixtures JOBS HOMEGROWN Manufacturing remains a significant employer in Piscataquis County B y M a u r e e n M i l l i k e n

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