Mainebiz

V I E W P O I N T S W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 3 O C T O B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 9 From the Editor W hen the conversation around business expan- sion comes up, Maine's location at the end of I-95 is often seen as a challenge. How many times have you heard that it's an eight-hour drive from Kittery to Fort Kent? Actually, 5 hours and 48 minutes, if you believe Google Maps. By air or by automobile, it's still 300-plus miles, which is considerable. e state's network of infrastructure and trans- portation is extensive, with three deep-water ports, a network of rail lines and a vast highway system, as laid out in the introduction to the Transportation & Logistics focus (see Page 15). For our cover story, Senior Writer Laurie Schreiber talks to Habib Dagher, a civil engi- neer by training and director of the University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center. Dagher thinks big. Many are familiar with his efforts to develop a system of offshore, float- ing wind turbines tethered to anchors. Or the giant indoor wave pool at UMaine where engineers can do hydrodynamics testing. UMaine engineers have a lab set up in the Penobscot Narrows Bridge, the highest bridge observatory in the world. Most recently, UMaine developed the world's largest 3D printer. Laurie's story does look at some of the out- sized projects in the works at UMaine, but it also focuses on one of the most compact developments: "Bridge in a Backpack," a mobile bridge system that can literally be transported like a rucksack and set up on-site. See Page 16 for details. Electric vehicle charging stations, an upgrade to the freight rail system and the return of the transportation bond effort are part of a roundup of industry news. Stories start on Page 19. Elsewhere in the issue, Maine's lobster industry has grown weary of shipping live lobster to Canada and Massachusetts to be processed, only to be sold back to Maine in a packaged form. So a number of companies burned by tariffs and international trade issues are investing in lobster processing as a way to take more control of the final product and mar- ket price. Correspondent Catherine Berce gets the lowdown from Greenhead Lobster, Luke's Lobster and Ready Seafood about their efforts to build a network of processing plants. See Page 12. e list in this issue is the top Miane-based transportation projects. See Page 26. Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz Featured @ Mainebiz.biz For a daily digest of Maine's top business news, sign up for the Mainebiz Daily Report at mainebiz.biz/enews Get Maine's business news daily at mainebiz.biz and on Twitter (@Mainebiz). Below is our most popular content for the 10-day period from October 7–16. 1. UMaine unveils world's largest 3D printer 2. Machias makes a comeback, after decades of decline 3. Construction to start on Biddeford Lincoln mill hotel, residential project 4. Biddeford apartment complex sells for $3.6 million 5. In Portland, another Monument Square building changes hands 6. Olympia Sports sold to Denver-based chain, will close 77 stores 7. After undercover video shows fish mistreatment, owner of Bingham aquaculture site apologizes 8. Colby operations, development have $1.5B impact on Maine, study says 9. Sonic boom: Brunswick Landing development explodes into next phase 10. Marina Bowie, of Biobased Maine, sees massive opportunity for the state's biomass P H O T O / L A U R I E S C H R E I B E R 1 Be ready. BE SHUR. bernsteinshur.com When you need outside legal counsel that feels like par t of your team. Building a better bridge — UMaine's latest big idea can fit in a backpack UMaine engineers have come up with some outsized projects, but they have also developed one of the most compact, a 'Bridge in a Backpack.'

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